In the Eye of the Storm
by kratos lover1
Summary: Okay, I guess this isn't a Storm story anymore, but now it's a Thalion or an Aria story whatever you prefer to call it, or call it a Storm story I don't care. Lots of OCS! Find out what happens when a new group comes together to bring an end to Anna's r
1. Chapter 1: Thalion

Hi again everyone. I know that there were a lot of loose ends in that last story and everyone has been asking all these questions, but don't worry, these questions will be answered in this story, hopefully. Anyway, thanks for all the support, even though I thought that you'd kill me, and I really hope you like this chapter as well. Thanks!

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Disclaimer: I own nothing, except Storm, Aria, Anna (Storm's daughter), and Thalion. Kararu Rinomino came up with some of the characters in this story as far as appearance and names as well as Sutra, Kagerou, Martel (Lloyd's daughter), and Merlin. Also, Raspedra Twilight owns the artwork for Storm, so that part is all hers. Namco owns everyone else and I really wish that I did.

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Chapter 1: Thalion

"Are you up yet Thalion?" Kratos' voice snapped the boy out of his sleep as he groggily sat up and rubbed his eyes.

"Yeah," he yelled back, hoping that Kratos could hear him. He rubbed his eyes a little more before stretching out and yawning. "...at least I am now..." he grumbled as he rolled out of bed.

The boy walked over to one end of his small room and looked into the mirror that was leaning against the wall there. He reached over onto a shelf and grabbed a hair tie as he pulled his long, cyan colored hair back loosely. His hair was down to around the middle of his back and he only wanted to get it out of his face as he tied it up and let it hang down.

Thalion walked over to his clothes that were laying out, he didn't have too many outfits, seeing how his grandfather and him were on the run and weren't really able to go into many towns easily, but he made do with what he had. Thalion was just happy that they had a makeshift home where they weren't bothered by anyone. He grabbed a pair of white pants, similar in fashion as Kratos' outfits from his Cruxis days. He then grabbed his shirt which was a dark blue that looked a lot like his grandfather's with its design, but that Kratos said also resembled his father's clothes as well. He then pulled on two arm sleeves, also a dark blue, to cover the area from the middle of his arm all the way to his wrist. With these in place he grabbed his pair of black gloves. These gloves protected his palms, but the fingers were free from its confines and were allowed easier movement as well.

Thalion then walked over to the other side of his room where, laying on a chair, Thalion grabbed his belt, given to him by Kratos to hold something very important to him. He then reached over and picked up one possession of his that he held very close to his heart. He picked up his father's cape, the cape that his father had wrapped him in to get him out of the fire. Thalion didn't know exactly what happened that day, his grandfather didn't really like to talk about it much and he learned not to push it. Thalion then put on his belt followed by his cape as he got ready to leave his room and make his way to the kitchen.

Before he left though, Thalion made sure to remember something that held the most value to him. Leaning in a corner near the door was a very beautiful sword. The handle was covered in jewels and it sparkled in the morning sunlight as he held it up to inspect it. It wasn't just the beauty from the jewels that made the sword valuable to Thalion, but rather the fact that it had belonged to his mother. She had used the sword for many years and even carried it before she died, sixteen years ago. This is what made it special to him. With the sword and the cape, Thalion knew that he would always have a piece of his parents with him wherever he went.

Thalion walked into the kitchen and smelled breakfast ready for him on the table as he sat at his place, ready to eat.

"You know, with as much sleep as you've been getting lately, I'd swear that you were actually Lloyd's son," Kratos complained as he watched him walk into the room.

"Well, as you can tell, I'm not, I'm his nephew," Thalion said as he grabbed his fork and began to dig into his food.

"Well, maybe so, but you eat like him too," Kratos said, smirking a little as he watched him gobble down his food.

Thalion stopped eating for a moment to bring up yet another question. "So, where exactly is my Uncle Lloyd at?" he asked innocently.

"I wish I knew, but I haven't seen him in years. I haven't seen anyone from before your parents died. I wish I knew what happened to everyone and where they all are, but they are most likely stuck in the same situation as us and I don't think we'll find them anytime soon," Kratos explained to him, becoming a little more depressed at the thought of not having seen his son in so many years.

"I see..." Thalion said sadly as he looked down at his now empty plate. He stood up and took his plate to the counter before heading for the door.

"Where are you going?" Kratos asked him before he could get outside.

"I'm going out for a little while to see what's going on around here," Thalion explained.

"We're in a forest and have to keep away from the village, what do you think is going on?" Kratos asked him.

"I just don't want to be cooped up in this house all day," Thalion admitted emitting a small groan at the end to add to his statement.

Thalion made it outside as he looked around the woods, taking in all the sights, sounds, and smells that were out there for him. He began to wander farther and farther away from his home and closer to a nearby village. What he didn't realize was that he was being followed very closely by someone else.

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There was someone else in the forest as she watched the young boy move through the woods from her spot high in a tree. She scanned him over with her aqua blue eyes, searching for anything that could help determine whether he was an innocent passerby or whether he was an enemy.

Some of her long brown hair went in front of her face as she tucked it behind her pointed ear so she could see better. She braced herself with one hand against the tree as she moved through the tree as he moved and walked across the branches gracefully from tree to tree as he continued along. The fact that she wore no shoes helped keep her silent and steady as she moved through the trees. She had on a lavender colored top that was lower cut, somewhat like a v-neck, with half-sleeves. She had on a pair of black pants that fit her just right, not too tight but not too loose. She also had a dark purple sash that wrapped around her waist as it angled down from one side to the other. On her back she carried a quiver full of arrows as well as the bow to go along with it. She looked ready to use her weapons at a second's notice if she had to. She kept this in mind as she observed the man walking below her.

The girl kept watching, trying to find any sign that could cause her to attack, but so far he seemed rather innocent. He seemed innocent, at least, until she saw something sparkle on around his waist. His cape blew slightly out of the way as the girl noticed a beautiful sword resting in his belt, a sword with many jewels in the handle. She would know that sword anywhere, she recognized it and knew it had belonged to someone who she had been very close to. That's when she looked closer at his cape and recognized it as well, it having belonged to someone else important who was stolen away from her many years ago. This was what she had been searching for for so long, someone involved in the death of Storm and Yuan. This guy looked too young to have been the one who committed the crime, but she figured he would at least be able to answer who did, with some persuasion of course.

The girl pulled an arrow from her quiver and pulled it back in her bow, lining up with her target and waiting for the right moment to strike. Suddenly, he got right where she wanted him to be and she released the arrow.

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Thalion walked through the forest, not feeling quite at ease as he glanced around nervously every now and again. He couldn't help but shake off the eery feeling that he was being watched by someone. He was about to shake off the idea completely, when suddenly, an arrow appeared in his line of vision, attaching itself to the tree he was walking alongside. If he had been one stride ahead, he would have had an arrow right in his head. He gulped loudly as he looked around to see where the source of the arrow had come from.

"Explain yourself or next time I won't miss," a woman's voice called from above as Thalion looked up to see her pulling back yet another arrow, ready to strike. "Who are you?" she asked him, tilting her head a bit with the question.

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Well, that's it for the cute little opening chapter. More to come, please don't be worried. I promise, but I want to kind of draw out the beginning to let everything just sink in with everyone. Anyway, I hope you liked it and please remember to review. That's very important. Anyway, thanks for reading, until next time!! 


	2. Chapter 2: Strange Girl

All right, glad to see that you guys like this story so far and now I'm on to the next chapter. I really hope that you like this chapter as well. Oh, and I'm sorry ahead of time if it takes forever to update in the next few weeks because I have finals coming up in 2 weeks and I'm scared because I have tests next week on top of that. Ugh... Oh, and also, I have 2 new videos on youtube that I'm pretty happy about. I would be close to having a third one as well, but my computer froze when I was halfway through making it and erased a large part of it. Needless to say, I got angry and stopped working on it, but I will get back to it eventually. Anyway, on with the next chapter.

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Chapter 2: Strange Girl

"Who are you?" the girl asked Thalion as her bow and arrow pointed straight at him, ready to strike at any second. Thalion looked a little nervous at first, still freaked out by the close call he had with the last arrow, but soon he stood straighter and glared at her challengingly.

"I think I should be the one asking that question," he answered her.

"Perhaps, but you're not the one with the bow pointed at me," she pointed out as she pulled the arrow back a little farther.

Realizing that she had made her point and that she meant business, Thalion decided it was best to answer her. "Thalion...my name is Thalion. Can I ask what your name is?" he asked her.

"Not quite yet," she replied, not once lowering her weapon. "Where did you get that sword and that cape?" she asked him.

Thalion's eyes grew wide as he looked down at his sword for a second before looking back at the girl. "This sword belonged to my mother and the cape to my father, but they died...a long time ago," he answered.

The girl's eyes grew wide and her breath hitched a little at his answer. "Your mother...?" she asked him almost too quietly for him to hear. "What was her name?" she questioned him, beginning to loosen the tension on her bow a little.

"My mother's name was Storm," Thalion said a little hesitantly. He realized that this girl must have somehow known his mother and father, but how he didn't know. He was curious and he wondered if he might know more about them than his grandfather was willing to tell him.

"And your father?" she asked him, choking a little on her words as her bow was lowered. Their eyes locked each other's ignoring everything else around them. Nothing else mattered in each other's minds except each other.

"Yuan..." Thalion simply replied. With this answer the girl looked down at the ground for a moment before looking back at Thalion.

There was silence between the two, so many thoughts running through each other's minds. "You knew my parents, didn't you?" Thalion asked her.

"I knew your parents," she replied almost as a sigh. She put her bow away and came down the tree as she went to speak more with Thalion.

"How did you know them? What were they like? What actually happened to them?" Thalion began asking as she came down. She didn't once look up or attempt to answer anything as she kept a solemn face.

"They rescued me when I was a little girl. They took me into their home like I was theitr daughter," she explained to him. Thalion stopped and listened, happy to finally have someone talk about the people that he cared so much about.

"They were amazing people and didn't really care who a person was or what they did, but they were always willing to forgive someone and give them a second chance, like me. They did everything they could to help others, and in the end I think it's what killed them," she told him, but the last part became more disheartening sounding. Thalion wondered what she really meant by that.

"Not long after I moved in with them, people began coming after them, wanting to kill them. They ran away and they took me with them. We ran and ran, but the people always managed to find us and they would have to fight. And then, Storm became pregnant, with you I'm assuming. Not too long after that we all actually found a home to stay at where we were safe and didn't have to run. But then, Yuan went to go find someone one night, but when he left some people came to our home after Storm. Storm made me leave to protect me as she stayed to defend herself. I don't know what happened after that, but they never came back. I went to the house once and it was burned to the ground," she explained looking at the ground the entire time.

"They were killed in a housefire...that's what my grandfather always says," Thalion told her.

"Well, that might be what happened afterwards, but believe me they were murdered and I've spent a long time looking for who's responsible. They were such great people and I know they didn't deserve what happened," she told him.

"I wonder if my grandfather knows anything else about it?" Thalion asked himself. The girl looked over at him.

"Your grandfather?" she asked him, curious about who it was.

"Yeah, I'll take you there to meet him, his name is Kratos," Thalion explained to her.

"Kratos! I know him, Storm had me meet him before and I think he's the one Yuan went after that night," she explained to him.

"Wow, really? This is great. That means he'll know you then," Thalion exclaimed. He was so excited to finally have someone other than Kratos to talk to. He began walking in the direction of his home when he turned around and saw her walking another way.

"Hey, where are you going?" he asked her.

"Hang on, I have to go and get someone who's waiting for me," she explained to him as she whistled.

Thalion stood there, waiting for whatever was supposed to happen. Suddenly, out of the trees a huge, green dog-like creature jumped out. It was panting and came over and licked the girl. She giggled a little and scratched it on its head.

"Hey Noishe, I found someone who's related to Storm," she told him.

The creature, Noishe, cocked its head at this and whined a little. The girl put her hand on his back as the two walked over to where Thalion was standing. He looked a little nervous at being introduced to the giant dog, but wasn't moving away from him.

"Thalion, this is Noishe. I've been with him a long time, and he knew Storm as well," she introduced him. "Don't worry he's really friendly," she assured him.

"I'm not worried...it's just I've never seen something like him before," Thalion said as he slowly reached out his hand to the creature. Noishe sniffed him a little before yipping a bit and licking his face excitedly. Thalion fell backwards from the surprise of the creature's actions while the girl just stood and giggled.

"I think he likes you," she said, still laughing a little. "Hey Noishe," she called as the creature leaped off Thalion and ran over to her, wagging his tail the entire time.

"Did you know that this kid lives with Kratos?" she asked him.

Noishe stopped for a moment before he howled loudly at the name and began jumping around happily. She could tell he was happy about the news and laughed at his actions.

"Well, I guess I should take you there," Thalion stated as he got off the ground and dusted himself off a bit.

"Yeah, he seems kind of excited now," she replied.

The two began to walk through the forest when suddenly Thalion stopped and looked at her.

"What's the matter?" she asked him.

"You never told me your name," he told her.

"Oh, I'm sorry. My name is Aria," she explained to him.

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Well that's the end of that chapter. I hope you liked it, and please review. I really want to hear what you all have to say. I hope I'm doing this right. Thanks for the comments last chapter, hope you like this as well. Thanks! 


	3. Chapter 3: Reunion

Hey everyone, glad that everyone is really enjoying this story. I hope I manage to make this chapter as good as the last one. I really hope you enjoy this. Oh, and wish me luck on my finals next week and the exams I have this week. I think I'm gonna need all the help I can get. Haha! Anyway, hope you like this chapter, thanks for the reviews. Enjoy this chapter!

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Chapter 3: Reunion

Kratos was beginning to wonder where Thalion had gone off to since he had not returned at his normal time. He was also beginning to grow worried that someone had found him, and that something had happened. He didn't want to see someone else that he cared about be taken away from him, and he was about ready to go out and look for him. He grabbed his sword and placed it in its sheath before heading out the door.

Just as he walked out the door a familiar face came through the trees waving at him wildly.

"Hey Grandpa!" Thalion yelled as he ran towards the house excitedly.

Kratos was definitely relieved to see Thalion safe, but wondered what the boy was so excited about. He stopped and crossed his arms as he waited for Thalion to get to him. Thalion had a large smile that spread across his face as he finally made it to his grandfather, panting from running so far.

"Where were you and why are you so excited?" Kratos asked him as he waited for his grandson to catch his breath.

"You'll never guess who I met out in the woods," Thalion began before being quickly cut off by Kratos.

"You were talking to someone out in the woods?! You know how dangerous that it for you! What did you say?!" Kratos began angrily, letting the questions flow out of him.

Thalion seemed unfazed by his initial shock and outrage at his actions, he knew that they would be coming. He also knew that his grandfather would understand in due time and was prepared to introduce him to his new friend.

"It's okay Grandpa," Thalion comforted him as he placed a hand on his shoulder to calm him down. "You'll understand in a moment. Just wait here a second," he told him as he turned around to go and call Aria over. Kratos reached out, almost pulling him back for more of an explanation, but Thalion was already off to fetch his friend.

Within a few seconds, Thalion was back with a young girl following behind him. Kratos cocked his head at the sight in front of him, not sure what to think about his grandson's unruly actions. He wasn't too sure about their visitor as he kept his hand on his sword which was safely placed in its sheath, for the moment.

"Grandpa, this is Aria. She knew Mom and Dad," he introduced her. She reached out her hand to shake his, but at the mention of his daughter's name Kratos froze and stared at the girl, trying to remember. He knew that he had heard the name before, but couldn't quite place where.

Aria, seeing that he was trying to recollect where he knew her from, chuckled a little. "Maybe you would remember me better as the cute little five year old that used to live with them. Remember, I came and visited you once with Storm," she reminded him. That's when it all came back to Kratos. He did remember the little girl that Storm and Yuan cared so much about. He couldn't believe that she was still alive, and wondered how she had survived the attack that killed both Yuan and Storm.

"Aria..." he said softly looking at her, not believing how much she had grown since then. She looked strong and athletic, and surprisingly like Storm.

"That's right," she said just as quietly as she waited for something to happen. It seemed that she was waiting for something.

"That's not all I found out the woods though Grandpa," Thalion said as he looked over at Aria. Kratos perked up again as he heard that there was more to this surprise. H was trying to think of who else Thalion could be hiding, who Aria had been traveling with for the last sixteen years.

Suddenly, Aria whistled loudly as some of the roughage in the woods rustled before a large, green dog-like creature jumped out and ran towards the group. Kratos' eyes grew wide at the sight of his old companion. Before he knew it though, he was on his back with Noishe completely on top of him, panting and wagging his tail happily.

"Noishe? You're okay too?" he asked him happily as Noishe barked back at him before licking him all over his face.

Aria soon pushed the arshis off Kratos as he got himself off the ground. Once Kratos got off the ground he couldn't help but smile at being able to see his old companion as well as seeing that Aria was safe after all of these years. He wondered what she had been up to and what she was doing around this area, especially out in the woods. This whole thought made him a little suspicious, but with Noishe traveling with her he was almost certain they wouldn't harm him or Thalion.

"So, what are you up to these days?" Kratos finally asked Aria.

"Well, since the day that I was separated from Storm and Yuan I was determined to find the one who was responsible for their deaths. I just don't understand how they would deserve what happened and I want to find this person and find out why they did what they did then take things from there. You don't know anything, do you?" she asked him after explaining her side of her story.

"Well...I..." he began, not sure if he should tell her what he knew. He thought for a moment and thought that there couldn't be any harm in telling her what he knew. She obviously was passionate about finding this out, and he didn't want to deny her some sort of information that could be useful, after all he wanted someone to take care of who was responsible for not only Storm and Yuan's death, but also Zelos'.

"Well...?" Aria asked, after growing impatient with Kratos' silence.

"The person who was behind everything including the attacks on Storm and Yuan, the attacks on the Regeneration Group, and some other things before that was a woman named Anna. That's all I know, I have no clue where she is at right now though," he told her honesty.

"Anna, huh?" Aria asked out loud as she put a finger to her chin in thought. She looked back at the two after a moment before bluntly replying. "Well, I suppose if that's all you know then I can be on my way. I have all I need so I'm going to find this Anna woman," she explained to them as she turned around to head back into the forest.

"Wait a minute, you can't just leave like that!" Thalion yelled at her. She stopped walking and without turning around answered him.

"I have to go and find her, I can't stick around here forever," she said as she waved her hand in the air as a goodbye gesture before beginning to walk away once again.

"I want to come with you!" Thalion yelled at her. She stopped in her tracks and turned her head slightly to look at him, somewhat surprised by his response.

"You're not going with her," Kratos told him firmly as he grabbed him by the arm to reenforce his statement.

Aria looked at Thalion for a moment before looking down at the ground sadly. "I can't let you come with me," she told him.

"Why not? I want to go," Thalion asked her as he pulled himself from his grandfather's grip.

"I don't really think I need to explain myself. I travel alone, just Noishe and I, and I don't need someone else tagging along. That's how it's always been and that's how it's going to stay," she bluntly replied.

Thalion was a little shocked at her answer, but didn't seem too satisfied with it. "I don't really care what you think it should be like, but I think that since they were my parents then I have a right to come along with you," Thalion told her. He spun around to look at Kratos before he was able to argue. "And I don't really care what you think either because I'm going to go along whether you want me to or not. I have to go, it's important to me," he told Kratos.

"I already told you kid, it's not going to happen," she said. "Come on Noishe we're leaving," she said to the arshis as she began to walk deeper into the forest. She stopped when she heard whining behind her.

Aria spun around and saw Noishe standing next to Thalion and Kratos with his ears and head down sadly as he cried.

"Noishe, you know why they can't come with us," she said to him, but the dog like creature just stood his ground and cried even louder.

Aria sighed loudly and grumbled a little under her breath at the situation she was in. "Fine you can come along, but I hope you know how to defend yourself because I'm not going to take care of you at all. If you get tired of traveling and stop early you'll be left behind. We go where I want and remember you're just tagging along, we're not really going there together," she told him, still irritated at having to bring him along at all.

"I'm going with you too then. There's no way you're going by yourself Thalion," Kratos said. Kratos looked at his grandfather and smiled at the idea.

"Okay, so we'll leave tommorrow then?" Thalion asked everyone.

"I can't believe I''m agreeing to this at all," Aria said as she shook her head and came back to the small house. Noishe wagged his tail the entire time, happy that he had brought the group together.

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Well, that's the end of this chapter. Hope you liked it. I know there are lots of questions as far as the other group members like Sutra and Lloyd and such, but that will come eventually just be patient. Also, I'm sure you're all wondering about other stuff as well, and I hope that I will be able to answer them in this story eventually. If it seems like I'm missing something somewhere let me know and I can tell if it's coming eventually, or maybe I overlooked something. That happens to the best writers sometimes, so with me it's almost guaranteed to happen since I'm nowhere close to one of the best writers. Haha! Anyway, thanks for the reviews for last chapter, remember to do the same for this one as well. Thanks! 


	4. Chapter 4: Unsure

Man guys, I am SO sorry that this has taken me so long to update. I had finals week, not fun, and then I came home and jumped right into working and everything. It's been tough finding time for myself working 40+ hours a week. It's been crazy between that and getting ready for Christmas and having my birthday this week. Too much, so I'm sorry. I know it's just be giving you lame excuses for why I haven't written anything. Sorry! Anyway, on with the next chapter.

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Chapter 4: Unsure

The next morning Kratos was inside of the house when Thalion came into the kitchen from his room. He had his pack ready to go and was waiting for his grandfather to finish the rest of it. Thalion walked over to the window and looked outside before shaking his head at the sight.

"She's still out there," Thalion said as he looked back at Kratos in disbelief. He looked back out the window and watched as Aria stood next to Noishe scratching his head as she placed some food down on the ground for him.

"I can't believe that she wouldn't come in to sleep at all. She just slept out there with Noishe all night. I wonder why?" he asked as he walked away from the window to help Kratos with the rest of the packing.

"Perhaps she isn't used to sleeping with anyone other than Noishe," Kratos tried his best to come up with some sort of explanation.

"Or maybe she isn't used to sleeping inside," Thalion said quietly, almost to himself as he grabbed a small bag of money and placed it in his pack.

"Is that it?" Kratos asked Thalion as he looked around the room a few times to be sure he wasn't missing anything too important.

"I think so. Let's go," Thalion said as he smiled at him, eager to get going.

The two walked out of the house as Aria looked up at the two. "Are you guys finally ready to go?" she asked impatiently. Thalion nodded his head and she walked over to pick up Noishe's food to get him ready. She placed her pack and quiver on her back and was ready to go.

"So where are we going to first?" Thalion asked Aria before they started on their way.

Aria looked over to Kratos and gave a small smile in his direction. "I don't know. I was thinking that we go look around the town where Yuan and Storm lived by. I don't quite know where it is, but I think Kratos would, and he'd know the face of the man who killed them," she said as she waited for Kratos' reply.

Kratos looked over at her with her reply, a little stunned at her decision. He wasn't sure if he wanted to revisit where he had lost his daughter, but he knew that it was important to the two of them.

"I'll take you to the town, but if I go in I will draw too much attention to the group since they are still looking for anyone for the Regeneration group," Kratos answered as he walked a little farther ahead beside Noishe, leaving Aria and Thalion in the back together.

After a few minutes of walking in silence, Thalion looked over to Aria, a question running through his mind.

"Why didn't you come inside last night?" he asked her.

Aria looked over at him, a little stunned at the forward nature of his question. "Well, I guess I just like sleeping outside, it's what I'm used to. Besides, Noishe deserves some company at night as well," she replied. She looked down at the ground for a moment after she was finished before she looked back at him with a very blank face.

Thalion didn't seem to convinced by her answer as he stared at her, trying to read something in her face, somewhere.

"It has something to do with us, doesn't it?" he asked her finally, staring ahead to where his grandfather and Noishe were walking.

Aria looked over at him, before looking in the direction he was facing. "It has nothing to do with you..." she said, a little uncomfortably.

"Sure it doesn't," Thalion muttered under his breath.

"Look, can we just drop the subject. You know, I'm doing you a favor letting you come along. I don't really need the extra company and you're just a burden at this point. Just leave me alone and take care of yourself," she yelled at him before moving a little farther from him.

Thalion watched her move away as he slowed his walking speed a bit, lost a little in thought. He just couldn't figure her out, but he wanted to know her so much. There was something about her that he just couldn't put his finger on, something that she was trying desperately to hide.

Aria was a little steamed by Thalion's questions and assumptions. She thought things over a little bit before she realized that he had slowed down his pace. She looked back and her eyes grew large when she saw him. Thalion himself didn't shock her, but rather what was stalking behind him.

Kratos soon realized that there was not the sound of footsteps behind him any longer as he turned behind to see where Aria and Thalion had gone off to. He couldn't see anything behind Thalion, but he did see Aria pointing an arrow at him.

"Get down Thalion," Kratos screamed to his grandson as Thalion looked up and saw the arrow pointed in his direction. He ducked quickly, easily dodging the arrow that flew by him.

"What are you doing?" Kratos yelled angrily at Aria as he pulled out his sword from its sheath and pointed it straight at her, waiting for some sort of explanation. Before Kratos could get another word in though Noishe jumped in front of him, protecting Aria from anything he would attempt.

"Noishe?" Kratos asked as he looked at his long time companion standing between him and a potential enemy.

"Grandpa, it's okay," Thalion as he got up off the ground.

"What do you mean it's okay? She almost shot you with an arrow," Kratos said angrily, looking back at Aria with a death glare.

"She was protecting me," Thalion said a little more calmly.

"Protecting you?" Kratos said as he lowered his weapon a little.

Aria didn't say anything as she put her weapon away and looked over towards Thalion and the wolf she had shot. Noishe came closer to her and nudged her hand a little as she scratched him behind the ears in appreciation for his protection.

Kratos walked over to Thalion and saw too the wolf that laid on the ground with an arrow in its side. It was still alive, but it wasn't going to be moving around for a little while.

Kratos looked back at Aria, not quite sure what to say to her. Instead of saying anything he placed his sword back in its sheath and nodded his head at her before continuing back along the trail. Aria watched him pass before Thalion came up to her.

"Thank you," he told her, still a little shocked by what almost happened.

"Don't think you'll get so lucky next time, watch what you're doing," she warned him before she started walking after Kratos.

"Wait!" he yelled at her. Aria stopped in her tracks when he called. She didn't turn around, but waited to hear what he had to say.

"Why did you save me? You said that you wouldn't protect me, but you did," he asked her.

Aria didn't move and didn't say a word. She stayed like that for a few long moments before walking after Kratos once again, not answering his question.

Thalion watched her walk away, wondering what exactly she was trying to do by being so mysterious. Ahead on the horizon, Thalion could see where the woods turned into a town, and he wondered if this was the place that they were searching for. He jogged a little to catch up with everyone else as they came upon the town whose people had murdered his parents. He had no idea what would be in store for him there.

* * *

Ok, that's it from me. I know everyone is going to complain that nothing happened in this chapter, but I hope I created the tension between Aria and Thalion that I was hoping for. Thanks for being so patient once again. I hope there are still people out there waiting for this story yet. Anyway, thanks for reading and please be sure to leave a review! Thanks! 


	5. Chapter 5: Murderer

Well, everyone, here's the next chapter. I'm hoping that some of you are actually still reading this story and not everyone gave up on me. This chapter has some more of the plot in it, more than the last chapter that's for sure. Anyway, thanks for the reviews and I hope everyone enjoys this chapter.

* * *

Chapter 5: Murderer

The group was soon near the edge of a small village before they stopped to decide what their next plan of action was. Aria looked over at Kratos and Thalion to see if they had any suggestions before they just walked in. Seeing how neither of them were saying anything, she decided to be more forward and ask them.

"So, are we going to go in and ask about this Anna girl?" she asked them impatiently, wanting to get in there and find out what she wanted to know.

"Well, I know for a fact that I shouldn't go in there if we don't want any trouble," Kratos stated.

"Why's that? You're not going to do anything," Thalion asked him, not really wanting to completely separate from him just yet.

"Well, seeing as how I was a member of the Regeneration group at one point, they are still looking for me. Some of the people in this village have seen me before, and if they saw me they would definitely remember me and try to come after us. If that happens then there is no way we will find out what we want to know," Kratos explained to them.

Thalion still didn't seem too convinced. For some reason he seemed to believe that no one would recognize him and that they would be safe. Aria thought otherwise though.

"That sounds like a good idea to me. You stay back here and we'll find something out hopefully. We'll be back when we get the information that we're looking for," she told him as she waved him away before slowly beginning to walk towards the village.

Thalion looked back at his grandfather for a moment before he ran to catch up to Aria.

"So how exactly do you plan on finding out where this Anna is?" Thalion asked Aria once he finally caught up with her.

"Well, I was thinking that I go in there, I talk, and you be quiet," she told him. Thalion stopped as soon as he heard her reply.

"Why are you doing all of the talking? Why am I even coming if I can't say anything?" he asked her.

"Well, I didn't ask you to come along, but I knew you would anyway. So, I'm going with my plan since I've had to talk my way out of plenty of situations. You'd probably just screw it up somehow," she answered him, still keeping her eyes on the approaching village.

"No I wouldn't!" he yelled back at her.

"Just shut up already, we're here," she ordered him as they came out of the woods into the village.

They looked around for a moment, gazing at the small houses that littered the entire town. It wasn't a huge town, but it seemed to have enough people in it to cause a crowd in the streets. The market section of the village was busy and the people were rushing through the crowded streets. On one edge of the town was a cliff with a river at the bottom. To get to the bottom there was a road that led down somewhere past the town and down to the river.

The two wandered the streets, looking for someone who might know something about Anna, someone they might be able to trust. They saw an older looking man not too far off who wasn't really shopping around the marketplace, but seemed to just be watching everyone else go about their daily routines.

"Come on, let's ask him," Aria said as she walked over to the man.

"Excuse me sir," Aria said as she walked up to the man. She placed her hand gently on his shoulder to gain his attention. He turned around and looked at the two, looking at Thalion with a curious expression.

"What is it?" the man asked, not taking his eyes off Thalion who looked back at him cautiously.

"We were wondering how to find Anna from here. We kind of got lost on our way and need a little help," she explained to him.

"Why do you need to go to see Anna?" he asked her, now looking at Aria.

"We were sent to bring something to her, and as I said before we got lost and need help finding our way there," she told him, retaining her composure despite his strange attitude towards the two.

"Why would Anna send a human and a half-elf together?" he challenged her. This question threw both of them off at first. Thalion looked over at Aria, knowing full well that she was a half elf and he actually had less elf blood in him than her. He understood then that although she had more elf blood, people would always believe that she was human, because she looked like them. As long as her long chocolate brown hair covered her pointed ears, she would be safe.

"Well, seeing as how the woods are full of wild animals and bandits, the people in my village believed it would be best to bring along someone who could use magic. Since the elves won't cooperate, we were stuck with bringing a half-elf," Aria told him, doing a very good job of keeping her face straight although she was forced to degrade her race.

"I see..." the man said, a little more comfortable with the whole situation. He looked over at Thalion once again. "You look a lot like someone I've seen before. Have we met before?" he asked him.

"I don't believe so," Thalion answered quickly. There was definitely something about the man that Thalion really did not like, but he kept silent.

"Anna resides in Meltokio, or what's left of it," he told her. "You need to travel east of here to the city of Triet, then follow to Iselia. After that, cross the mountains and you will end up in Meltokio before too long," he advised her.

Aria nodded at him to show that she understood. "Thank you," she told him before urging Thalion to follow her. As she began to walk away, the feeling that there was something unsettling with the man made her stop. Thalion stopped just short of running into her. Sh espun around and saw that the man was still watching them walk away.

"One more question," she yelled at him as she slowly took a few steps back towards him.

The man looked at her curiously as Thalion looked on in confusion. Thalion had no idea what she was doing, but he was sure that they had asked everything they were looking for.

"You don't know who out of the Regeneration group has been killed, do you?" she asked him, trying to sound completely into the entire subject. She wasn't too sure if she was pulling it off too well when the man looked a little concerned with her question.

"I don't know if there has been any recently, but I do know that there was a half-elf and his human wife that were killed quite a few years ago. As far as I know, those were the only ones that were ever caught. I don't know if the half-elf died, but I know that the human woman was, I watched her fall in front of me. That's what makes me so proud, I was the only person to actually kill one of them off," he told her.

Aria and Thalion were speechless. They had no idea that they were speaking to the man that had killed Storm and Yuan, the man that they were actually searching for. The man looked a little uneasy when neither of them said anything in return to his reply.

Finally, Anna snapped out of her trance as she slowly nodded her head before turning back around and walking towards the village's entrance. The man seemed somewhat satisfied with their departure as he slowly turned around. Aria stopped once again and turned back around, pulling out her bow and an arrow from her quiver. She pointed it at the man quickly and shot at him, hitting him in the shoulder.

The man shouted loudly in pain as everyone in the village stopped to see what was happening. Thalion looked at Aria in disbelief as she stood strongly with her bow still in hand. She wasn't planning on backing down at all. She had found the man that ruined her life, and she wanted to make him pay.

"Get them!" another man in the crowd shouted. Unfortunately, he was also a member of the small village's militia. Soon, other soldiers appeared, ready to fight, as they came towards Aria and Thalion.

Thalion pulled his sword from its sheath as he looked nervously at the large group approaching them quickly. Aria didn't flinch, but just pulled out another arrow and got it ready to fire. Thalion then realized why they were fighting as he watched the man that Aria had shot try to escape. He began to run after him, followed by about two soldiers, leaving two more for Aria. Thalion knew that he had to make the man pay for what he did to his grandfather, his parents, and apparently to Aria as well. He ran after him as fast as he could, not wanting him to get away.

Soon, Thalion had the man cornered by the cliff that led to the river. The man had gotten the arrow out of his shoulder and was hanging onto it to slow the bleeding down. Soon, he ignored the pain and pulled out a sword.

"Why are you attacking me, I helped you?" the man asked him,

"You killed my parents, you ruined her life and mine. They didn't deserve to die and you killed them anyway," Thalion growled at him as she pointed his sword at him threateningly.

"You're that child that I thought I killed aren't you?" the man asked him, chuckling a little. "I guess I didn't do a very good job of getting rid of you. Some of them said that you would grow up to be fine, but I knew that this would happen and that's why I tried to kill you too," he said as he laughed some more.

"I didn't turn out like this. You did this to yourself when you killed my parents for no reason," Thalion yelled at him.

"Would you like to know the reason?" the man asked before pausing for a moment. "The reason I killed them was because they were different. Because humans and half-elves can not be together. Everyone should stay in their own race and that's all there is to it," the man told him.

Thalion glared daggers at the man with his reply. "If that's the only reason you had then you really are a sick and twisted person," Thalion told him as he came at him with sword in hand.

Both of their swords collided with one another as Thalion was blown backwards from the force. Thalion had never been hit that hard before, and he wasn't sure if he really had the strength to take on such an experienced swordsman, especially with a few more soldiers coming to join the fight soon. He ignored the pain in his side as he got up and ran back at the man. He was soon knocked away again and rolled along the ground. Thalion was too stubborn to give up as he rushed once again, before falling to the ground once again as well.

Aria rolled along the side of one soldier as she stood up quickly, placed her arrow in her bow and shot it right in his leg, causing him to collapse from the pain. She then hopped backwards, barely in time to dodge the sword that the other solider almost lodged in her chest. She pulled out another arrow and launched it into the soldier, hitting him in the side causing him to cry in pain before dropping to the ground.

Thalion was having a rough time with the other man as he kept getting knocked over by his blows. He stood up once again, praying for some sort of strength to aid him in the battle.

_"Thalion...take my strength...the Demon Fang..."_

Thalion had no idea what he was hearing, but it sounded so familiar and soothing. It was a voice that was embedded in the back of his mind. Soon, he felt some sort of energy flowing into his sword. He knew then what the voice was telling him about, he knew what he had to do.

"Demon Fang!" Thalion yelled as he raised his sword over his head before bringing it crashing to the ground. There was a large flow of energy that rushed out of the sword and dashed at the man who was not able to dodge it. He crashed backwards and did not move.

Unfortunately, Thalion was not paying too much attention to his surroundings as the two other soldiers came up behind him, one stabbing him in the side. Thalion took a few steps backwards from the pain before falling off the cliff and into the river below, sword and all.

"Thalion!" Aria screamed at the top of her lungs while she watched him fall into the water.

This caused the soldiers to notice her once again as the older man slowly got back to his feet. Aria tried to hit them with her arrows, but they knew what she was trying to do and were able to avoid her. They were coming very close to her, and she had no way to escape at all. One of the soldiers pulled out his sword, ready to bring it down on Aria. She shielded herself, ready for the impact, but all she saw was a flash of green bringing the man down to the ground. Before she could tell what was happening, a streak of purple came by and took down the other soldier who was trying to figure out what happened to his comrade.

Aria looked over and saw Noishe and Kratos who were standing with to unconscious men on the ground where they stood up.

"Don't think this is over. I will tell Anna all about you and that woman's child," the man said as he tried to escape the town frantically.

"I don't think you'll be telling her anything," Aria said as she brought an arrow back before letting it fly directly into the man, bringing him down to the point where he would never get up again.

* * *

Once things had ended Kratos, Noishe, and Aria were back in the woods traveling desperately down the river to search for Thalion.

"So how did you know I needed your help?" Aria asked him as they were running.

"I didn't know, Noishe must have heard you and realized that you were in trouble and he made me tag along," Kratos explained.

"I see...I'm sorry what happened to him, but we'll find him. He's a tough kid," Aria told him confidently, wishing she had the confidence that she displayed.

* * *

Farther down the river, Thalion had washed up shore and was knocked out completely. A woman was walking along the river when she spotted his still body halfway in the water. She ran over and looked him over before picking him up.

"What happened to you, you poor thing," the woman said as she carried him back to her home to recover.

* * *

Well, that's it for this chapter. I really hope you liked it!! I tried really hard on this chapter and it's a lot longer than I thought it would be. Anyway, Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays, and Happy New Year. Enjoy the season! Please review and let me know what you think! Thanks!! 


	6. Chapter 6: Understanding

Sorry I haven't updated in awhile, I know you're all tired of hearing that though. I know that there has been some concern from several readers about how this story is going. I know people are wondering where certain people are and certain things that are going to happen. I can completely understand why you would be concerned, but don't worry, it's all covered. There is a reason why things are going slow, I kind of want it to take awhile before we find out about all the old characters so new ones can be properly introduced. Also, don't be worried about the plot, there are plenty of plot twists and cliffies as usual, I just gotta get started. Anyway, just wanted to reassure everyone. So, here comes the next chapter. I hope you all enjoy!!

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Chapter 6: Understanding

Thalion slowly opened his eyes as he groaned at the pounding in his head. He looked carefully around at his surroundings. He realized quickly that he was in someone's home, but whose he wasn't sure. He tried to get up, but quickly stopped when he felt a sharp pain in his side. He looked down and saw that his side was sliced by a sword and that it was wrapped in bandages. He didn't see any signs of anyone inside the house, and was about ready to try and get up once again to look around when he heard a noise coming from another room. He knew that he was not alone. His only question was who it was and whether they were a friend or a foe at this point.

Thalion tried once again to sit up as he placed his elbows to his side as he prepared to push up. He squinted as he felt the pain course through his body, but kept moving up until he was finally sitting. Now he could look around much easier. He didn't have much time to observe when a girl came into the room with him.

"Oh, you're finally awake!" the girl said as she came closer to the bed where Thalion was able to get a better view of her. She was obviously a half-elf, he could sense that as well as see it in her pointed ears. She had long silver hair which was shining in the sunlight pouring in through the open window. She had icy blue eyes that he couldn't help but stare at, something that made her stand out from anyone else she'd ever seen.

"Where am I?" Thalion asked finally, after realizing that he was staring for a little too long.

"I found you down the river injured so I brought you to my home out in the forest," the girl told him.

"You mean you're not from the village?" Thalion asked, feeling a little disoriented with his actual whereabouts.

"No, but I live outside the village, not far from the river, where I found you," she explained to him.

"I see," he simply answered, not sure whether to trust this girl, but really wanting to find his grandfather and Aria.

"Is there anyone else with you that may be looking for you?" she asked him.

"Well, there are two others, but I don't really know where they are or if they're even looking for me," he told her sadly.

Oh, I see," she said before pausing for a moment. "Well, I'm going out so if I see anyone I'll let them know where you are," she told him.

"You're leaving?" he asked her suddenly. He began to wonder if she actually was a threat to him since she was going to be leaving him unguarded. Of course, the way he was now, he wasn't going anywhere anytime soon.

"Yeah, I have to go out and find some food. Just make yourself comfortable, I shouldn't be too long," she told him as she went to the corner of the room and grabbed a bag, most likely for carrying whatever she found. With that she waved at him and walked out the door.

Thalion sat in the silence of the room after she left, trying to go over everything that happened, and what to do now that he was stuck with his injuries. He just really wished that Kratos was there with him, he knew that his grandfather would know what to do. He then began to realize that him being gone was probably driving his grandfather insane, and Aria was probably paying for it. He knew Kratos' temper.

* * *

"I can't believe you allowed something like that to happen to Thalion!" Kratos yelled once again. Aria couldn't even keep up with how many times she had heard that in the relatively short amount of time they had been searching down the river for Thalion. Finally, having put up with his yelling, Aria stopped and spun around to face Kratos.

"It's not my fault already!" she yelled at the top of her lungs at him causing Kratos to take a step back from his shock at her outburst. He stared at her as she glared angrily at him, her hands clasped into balls at her side. Finally, her gaze dropped to the ground sadly, her body almost trembling. "This is why I didn't want him to come," she said quietly.

Kratos looked at her strangely, about ready to say something to her when she walked away from him, walking deeper into the forest. Kratos looked at her, knowing that she obviously wanted some time alone to cool down after her outburst. He looked to the ground once to order his thoughts before moving on down the river once again to search for Thalion.

"Why did I let them come along with me? Of course something would happen to him, something always happens to people I care about," Aria asked herself as she walked through the forest, not really watching where she was going.

Suddenly, she heard a rustling noise coming from up ahead in the forest. She stopped in her tracks and pulled her bow from her quiver, ready in case the one making the noise wasn't exactly who she was looking for. She carefully walked closer to the source of the noise as she poked her head around a tree. She saw a woman bent over picking what looked to be some herbs from the ground. Aria could definitely tell that she was a half-elf, making her relax a little. If she was a half-elf, then she wouldn't be working with the village that was now after them. She could tell that the village they were in earlier was very prejudice.

"You can come out, I know that you're standing there. I mean you no harm at all," the woman said as she continued to pick her herbs.

Aria jumped when she heard the woman speak to her as she quickly took out an arrow and placed it in her bow. She pointed her weapon at the woman as she walked out and closer to her.

"I truly mean you no harm," the woman told her once again. "You must be looking for that boy, the one who fell in the river," she said, realizing that Aria was nervous because she had lost the boy.

"Where is he?" Aria asked, not putting her bow down and not coming any closer to the woman.

"He's back at my home, he is fine and you should really put your bow away. I swear that I will not harm either of you," the woman told her for what sounded like the last time from the tone of her voice.

There was something in the way that the woman said her statement that made Aria truly believe her. Maybe it was the fact that she was also a half-elf, but she felt that she could trust her at this point. She put her bow and arrow away and walked closer to the woman.

The woman gathered her bag of herbs and stood to face Aria. Aria looked into her icy blue eyes before the woman turned around and began to walk away.

"Follow me if you want to see your friend," the woman said as she continued to walk. Aria began to trot after her to catch up as she went to find Thalion.

* * *

Kratos was walking alone for what seemed like almost too long now. He was beginning to wonder if Aria was planning on coming back at all, or if she had run away for good. His question was soon answered when he heard Aria yelling for him before she appeared from out of the woods. Not only that, but there was someone with her, but he couldn't completely see them.

"Hey! I found Thalion, this woman found him and took him to her house to take of him," she explained as the woman came out from behind Aria and looked at Kratos for a moment.

She looked at him for a moment before her eyes became wide with shock, along with Kratos'.

"Kratos?!" the woman asked in complete disbelief.

"Sutra?!" Kratos asked as he looked at her, surprise all over his face.

"Hey, you two know each other already. That's good, it saves me some time, I'm gonna go back to Thalion," Aria said as she walked away from the two back towards the house.

"What are you doing out here? Don't you know that it's dangerous to go out anymore?" Sutra asked him as she came closer.

"I know, but we had to go out, Thalion wouldn't have it any other way," Kratos said as he sighed deeply.

"I'm curious," Sutra began as she looked at him, then back in the direction that Aria had headed in, "since when do you travel with kids?" she asked him, cocking her head and smirking at him slightly.

"Oh, I forgot that you don't know the two of them," Kratos said quickly, "Thalion is my grandson, Storm and Yuan's son and Aria was a young orphan girl that they took in almost seventeen years ago," he explained to her.

"I see..." Sutra said as she thought this over a little bit. "So, where are Storm and Yuan, still searching down the river for him?" she asked him chuckling a little at the thought of helping Storm's son.

Kratos looked at the ground sadly, not quite knowing what to say. Sutra looked at him, trying to figure out what he was thinking. She began to feel that things where not exactly as she had envisioned them to be. "What happened Kratos?" she asked him, desperate to get some sort of information from him.

"...Storm and Yuan...they were murdered...sixteen years ago...by Anna..." he managed to say. It wasn't easy for him to go back in his mind and relive the day he lost both his best friend and his daughter.

"What?! There's no way that would happen! Are you sure?" Sutra asked him as she placed a hand on his shoulder, hoping that he was only joking.

"No, I was there and saw it myself. They're both gone and they've been gone. Aria ran away until just a few days ago, and Thalion and I have lived alone since that day," Kratos told her sadly.

"That's terrible. I didn't actually think that one of the group would actually be killed," Sutra said as she looked towards the ground, remembering both Yuan and Storm.

There was silence for awhile between the two as memories of both Yuan and Storm ran through their minds. Finally, Kratos broke the silence by switching the subject.

"So what have you been doing since all of this started?" he asked her very silently.

Sutra was a little surprised at how he was avoiding the subject, but decided to answer him. "Why don't we go back to where Thalion and Aria are and I'll explain things there," she told him. Kratos merely nodded his head at her offer.

* * *

Soon, they were back at Sutra's house as Thalion looked up happily at his grandfather when he entered. Kratos walked over to his bed where he saw that his side was bandaged up from his wound. He looked down at it. He knew that he could take care of it later. He looked back over to Sutra before asking her his question once again.

"So, what have you been up to lately Sutra? What exactly happened to the world?"

Sutra sighed as she looked over at the small group huddled by the bed before she came over and sat down.

"Well, it's been quite an ordeal that's for sure. I guess when Anna released her information about Cruxis and the Regeneration group being associated with some members of it, people believed her and raised her up for it. Everyone thought of her as a hero, someone they could trust. Unfortunately for everyone else, they all realized too late, the mistake they had made by loving her so much," she began as everyone in the room got comfortable.

"I was currently traveling around, trying to help out anyone I could at rebuilding or protecting cities, anything to make up for what I had done in the past. I had to help people in order to clear my conscience of everything terrible I had once done. I thought that all was going well, that is, until I learned that there was a group of people coming after me, coming to kill me. I had no idea at first why they wanted me, but soon I learned that it was because I was associated with the Regeneration group, and was therefore a member of Cruxis," she explained. Aria and Thalion looked at each other, both carrying the same confused look. They had absolutely no idea what Sutra was talking about, but it seemed that Kratos seemed to know it. They decided to just let her continue though.

"Soon, everyone went into hiding. I did, Lloyd and Sheena did, Genis and Presea, Raine, Colette, and even Regal. I would occasionally hear from Sheena and Lloyd through some of their Mizuho connections, but soon that stopped as well. I hear now that their children are involved in getting rid of Anna and her rule," Sutra explained.

"Her rule?" Kratos asked, a little confused by her wording.

"It's like she's taken over completely, she rules over everyone and everything and people are too afraid to try and stop her," Aria interrupted as she explained what Sutra was talking about.

"Exactly," Sutra agreed as she looked back at Kratos. "I don't know what she's planning to do with all that power, but it must be something pretty big. If only there was a way to stop her, but at this point it seems almost impossible. Although everyone dislikes her, there is no one that will stand up to her," Sutra explained as she looked to the ground sadly.

Thalion got up a little in bed, struggling a bit from the pain. Everyone looked at him in worry as he sat up. "Well, I'm not afraid of her. If she's ruined so many people's lives then I think she should be stopped. Who gives someone the right to just go and run someone else's life? Once I get out of here, I'm going to find her and stop her," Thalion said angrily.

"That's crazy, she's too strong for you, she's too strong for any of us. Anna doesn't fight solo, she gets other people to do the dirty work for her. There's no way that you'd even find her, she'd find you first and get rid of you quickly," Sutra told him bluntly.

Thalion looked at her in surprise, but didn't seem to back off from his point of view. There was still a fire in his eyes, a desire to go and end Anna's reign. He looked over to Aria for support, but saw her staring sadly at the ground.

"She'll find you and get rid of you quickly..." Aria quoted Sutra. "...just like Storm and Yuan," she finished as she turned her head away from everyone else. Everyone had heard her, but decided to remain quiet on the subject. Before anyone had a chance to do anything Aria got up and ran out of the house quickly.

"Aria, wait!" Thalion called out as he watched her run out the door.

"I will go and find her," Kratos said as he got up and headed towards the door. "Get some sleep, you may need it tomorrow," he told Sutra and Thalion. With that he left the house to find Aria.

* * *

Aria ran as fast as she could through the woods. When she left the house she heard Noishe get up and now he was catching up to her. She finally stopped as she fell to her knees on the forest floor and brought her hands to her face.

'_I can't do this again. I can't get close to them. The same thing will happen and the heartache will come back. I won't do it again...but why is it so hard to stay away?'_ Aria thought before she felt something cold press against her hands. She looked up to see Noishe's nose pressed up against her hands. She wrapped her arms around his neck tightly, burying her head into his fur before he lifted her to the ground by lifting his head, carrying her with him.

She sat on the ground after letting him go, letting everything sink in. She tried to figure out what exactly she was going to do. She wanted to leave, but at the same time she couldn't bear to leave.

"What exactly do you plan on doing?" a voice asked her from behind. Aria turned around slowly to face Kratos who stared at her, his arms crossed across his chest as he awaited an answer.

"Why are you asking me? It's not like _you _care what I do," she said stubbornly.

Kratos sighed and rolled his eyes at her answer. He came closer and bent down to scratch Noishe behind the ears as he spoke to Aria. "I do care what you do, and so does Thalion. You can't drag us all this way and then abandon us when things get tough. We're a team now and we need to act like one. Thalion believes in you, I believe in you too so don't run away," Kratos told her, looking her right in the eyes with his last statement.

Aria looked at him, she couldn't believe what she was hearing. She kept staring at him, not knowing how to react or what to say, but suddenly she launched herself towards Kratos. Before he knew it Aria had her arms wrapped around his neck as she muttered thank you's to him. He hesitantly patted her on the back, still not too comfortable with being so close to her.

They headed back towards the house for the night as Aria assumed her spot next to Noishe outside, unwilling to come in no matter how many times Kratos offered. He gave up soon and came inside himself. He walked into the room Thalion was sleeping in. He walked up to him as he was sleeping and placed his hand over his bandaged wound. Soon, Kratos' whole body began to glow as the wound began to heal.

"Stay safe Thalion," Kratos said once he finished as he walked into the next room.

As Kratos healed Thalion, Sutra watched from outside the room. She couldn't believe what had happened to Storm and Yuan and she was upset that she couldn't understand how Kratos felt, that she couldn't help him. To lose a child had to be a horrible feeling, she knew that losing parents was.

"I guess you're not planning on telling them just yet," Sutra said quietly as she slipped out of the room, knowing that the extent of their powers would have to wait to be revealed for the time being.

* * *

Wow, this has got to be the longest chapter I have ever written, but I really really thought it turned out well. I hope I got the emotions and everything right. Anyway, thanks for all the reviews last time and I hope you enjoyed this. Well, thanks for reading and please review!! Thanks! 


	7. Chapter 7: Archers

Hey, everyone. I'm all moved back in to college now after break. I'm excited, I can't wait till everyone else gets here too so I can see them all. I missed them a lot and I'm ready to start this semester. I know, it's weird to want to get back to school, but I love it in college. Anyway, sorry for the late update once again. I'm really really sorry this took a lot longer to get around to than I thought, way too much work already. Hopefully, the email alerts will work this chapter, but we'll see. Enjoy the next chapter.

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Chapter 7: Archers

Thalion opened his eyes slowly before squinting them soon after as the bright morning sunlight shone through the window. He placed his elbows beside him to prepare to sit up, knowing that his wound would hurt when he tried to move. He braced himself as he lifted up, but he didn't feel any pain whatsoever. He looked down and removed the bandage from his side. He couldn't believe what he saw when he did so. His wound was gone, no trace of it ever being there was left. He wondered how he had managed to heal so fast and so well. It was something that completely stumped him, and he had nothing to even begin an assumption of what it could be. For now he would keep it in the back of his mind, he would hopefully find out some sort of explanation soon.

He got completely out of the bed as he got himself dressed and placed his sword in its sheath before heading out of the room to greet everyone. As soon as he entered the next room everyone looked at him in surprise at his movements. The only person without a shocked expression was his grandfather who only glanced up at him, but that was a common reaction from him and Thalion thought nothing of it.

"Why is everyone looking at me strangely?" he asked, knowing full well why they were shocked, but wanting to hear them say it themselves.

Aria was the first to speak as she stood up and walked over towards him. "Doesn't your wound still hurt, you've hardly had any time to heal," she asked him as she walked closer and placed her hand close to where his wound had once been. Just before she touched it she realized how close she was getting to him and pulled her hand away quickly. She took a step back and looked at him, awaiting some sort of answer.

"Well, I thought that I would need more time to heal as well, but its completely gone and I really don't know how," he said as he lifted his shirt up a little to show where his wound was, but there was nothing there, not even a scar.

Kratos looked at his grandson for a moment, glad that his healing had worked on him as well as he had wanted. He could help but feel the stare that Sutra was giving him from the other side of the room. He looked over to her and saw her motioning for him to go over to Thalion. Kratos sighed as he got up from his seat and walked over to Thalion.

"I suppose that now you are well, you would like to continue after Anna?" he asked him, He looked back at Sutra who didn't seem to be satisfied with what he said. Kratos knew she wanted him to explain how the wound had healed so quickly, but he wasn't going to tell him about his unique powers just yet. He figured Thalion had enough running through his mind already, and he didn't want to add anything else at the moment.

"Yeah, we can't let her get away with everything she's done, everything she's doing. These poor people are out there suffering because of her and there's nothing they can do. I think that there's something that we can do to stop her, and I'm going to find out how," Thalion said determinedly.

"Yeah? And what exactly do you think you're going to do first?" Aria said as she glanced at him before turning her back to him, awaiting an answer. She was a little concerned that Thalion was all talk and no action. She didn't really think he had what it took to bring down someone like Anna. Actually, from what she'd already seen, he didn't have what it took to take down an average man.

"Well, I say that we head towards Meltokio. That's where she's at right? It will take awhile to get there, and by the time we do, I'm sure I will have thought of something," Thalion said confidently.

Aria, Kratos, and Sutra couldn't believe what they were hearing as they hung their heads and sighed at the boy's answer. Thalion didn't really notice their reaction and smiled proudly at his plan.

Sutra, noticing the feelings running through the room decided to speak up first. "Well, I suppose that we'd better get going soon then since it will be a long trip anyway," she said as she stood up and headed out of the room to begin gathering supplies.

"I guess I'm in," Aria said as she shrugged her shoulders and headed outside to get Noishe ready to go.

Kratos was the only one left in the room as he walked over to his grandson. He placed a hand on his shoulder before sighing. "I know that you want to defeat Anna, but please be careful all right? Sometimes I think that you're too reckless," he told him as he followed where Sutra had gone to get some supplies as well.

"Reckless?" Thalion asked out loud as soon as Kratos had left. Thalion wondered what Kratos meant by this. Did he think that he was a hassle? Did he think that he would easily get hurt in this journey? Thalion knew that he had messed up once, but he'd be more cautious the next time. He wouldn't mess up anymore and he was sure of it.

Soon, everyone was outside and ready to get going. Aria was sitting on the ground with her elbows on her lap and her head in her hands as she waited impatiently for everyone to get going. Kratos, Sutra, and Thalion were making sure they had all of the supplies they needed, and they were taking awhile to do so. She sighed loudly, hoping that everyone could hear so she could get her point across. Noishe whined a little at her when she did so, nudging her with his nose at the same time.

"We hear you over there, and we're moving as fast as we can. Can't you be just a little more patient?" Sutra asked, her voice past the point of hinting her irritation.

"I thought we were going to leave as soon as possible. I've been ready, how about the rest of you, what are you taking with that's causing you to take so long to get ready?" Aria asked as she lifted her head from her hands.

"We're making sure we have enough supplies to last until the next town, wherever that may be," Sutra told her trying to keep her cool, she didn't really like exploding in anger, but she was having a difficult time keeping her composure.

"Whatever...if you run out you can still survive, believe me," Aria asked as she leaned back so she was lying on her back on the grass, her arms under her head.

"Just relax and we will get there," Kratos stepped into the conversation, ending it at that as Sutra and Aria exchanged glances once more before continuing with what they were doing.

Finally, after what seemed like forever to Aria, the group was on the road. They headed towards Triet at first where they planned to restock and figure out their destination from there. They only hoped that their group wouldn't draw any attention to Anna and her forces, or to anyone who was still out looking for the Regeneration group members since both Kratos and Sutra looked the same as they had when Anna took over. They didn't have to element of aging to disguise them.

When they set up camp for the night, Sutra began to cook their dinner over the campfire. She pulled out some food from her pack and looked over at Aria. She saw that Aria only carried a small, worn down bag that didn't seem very full.

"So, Miss 'I'm too impatient to pack my own bag' what are you planning on eating for dinner since you didn't want to help pack what I have here?" Sutra asked, expecting her to cave in and apologize for her actions when she realized that she had no food.

Aria didn't reply to her as she grabbed her bow and quiver. She stood up and slung the quiver over her shoulder as she went deeper into the forest. Sutra cocked her head at her in curiosity. She couldn't help herself as she got up to follow the young girl and see what she was up to.

Sutra lost sight of Aria altogether as she wandered around the forest searching for where she went. Finally, she saw her up ahead as she stopped in her tracks to watch the girl. Aria had stopped and was crouched down on one knee on the forest floor. She had her eyes locked on something and Sutra looked over to see what she staring down. About 100 feet from her was a large bird that looked similar to a turkey. It was very preoccupied with whatever it was eating on the floor as it pecked away, unaware of its silent stalker.

Sutra then focused her gaze back to Aria who pulled an arrow carefully from her quiver and placed it in the bow before bringing it back to take aim. She pointed it carefully at the bird and waited for just the right moment. Right as the bird stopped moving for a mere second, Aria launched the arrow, piercing it right in what could have very well been its heart. It fell over, completely still as Aria walked over to it and grabbed it by the leg and began to drag it back to camp.

Sutra couldn't believe what she had seen and didn't realize what a good archer she already was. She wondered if she was able to use her elven powers with her archery at all. She then began to wonder if she even had discovered her elven powers yet. She kept it in her mind and decided to watch her the next time they were in some sort of fight to see what she was able to do. Maybe she could show Aria some of her moves as well, and hopefully spark the girl's interest in the elven magic. Soon, she realized that she needed to get back to camp before Aria realized that she had followed her at all.

Once she was back to camp it wasn't long until Aria arrived as well, still dragging the large bird behind her. Thalion and Kratos looked amazed and Sutra smirked at her.

"So, you are good with that bow and arrow after all," she said as she continued to cook what she had.

Aria began to prepare her bird and didn't really look up to Sutra or the others at first, but soon she lifted her gaze momentarily and smiled at her. She realized that Sutra must have seen her make her kill and finally realized her skill. She wondered what Sutra could do with her bow and arrow as well. There was definitely some interest between the two archers beginning to spark.

* * *

"One of your assassins has been killed recently milady," a Desian said as he bowed before a woman sitting on a throne. He seemed somewhat threatened by her presence and seemed a little nervous at being around her at all.

"Did you get a report of who the killer was?" she asked, her irritation with him rising already.

"N...Not exactly. Reports indicate that there was a male and female, one half elf, one human. The half elf appeared to have been killed, but the human ran off alive," the man said, still very nervous. The look he was getting from the woman wasn't really helping him either.

"It wasn't the two troublemakers from earlier was it?" she asked him, in a tone that let him know that what she was speaking of was the only thing of importance.

"N...no, these two were younger, they were different," he said. Before he had a chance to say anything else though there was a hand wrapped around his throat as he was brought closer to the woman.

"I don't care what goes on with some little kids causing trouble. The only thing that I care about are the two troublemakers. You know that, and you'd better remember it too," she growled at him before she pushed him back a few feet, left gasping for air.

"Yes...milady," the man coughed out before he bowed and left the room quickly.

"I have to find those two, they have to be the only reason I can't gain the control I need, there is no other explanation," she said as she sat back on her throne.

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Well, that's it for that chapter. I know, a little confusing at the end, but at some point in the story you are bound to understand who and what she is talking about. Don't worry about that. Like I said the story goes slow so don't freak out if it takes quite a few chapters to get everything together. Anyway, sorry for the late update once again. Sorry, and thanks for the reviews for last chapters and please review this chapter as well. Thanks! 


	8. Chapter 8: Heist

Hi everyone, I think my slower updating is going to be more normal now because things are doing everything but slowing down for me. It's crazy here, but I want to be sure to update for you all. So, here I am on the weekend update, I'd expect these on the weekends, so look for the updates then. Unless, by some magical whim I find time during the weekend, but that could be pretty rare in the future. Anyway, sorry about that. So, here's the next chapter, thanks for the reviews last chapter and I hope you like this one too!!

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Chapter 8: Heist

"I really don't like the desert," Thalion complained as he sighed loudly while the group continued walking through the Triet Desert.

Kratos couldn't help but chuckle softly at the comment, wondering how Thalion was able to remind him so much of Lloyd since he'd never even met him.

"Well, we're getting close to Triet where we need to stop to get some supplies anyway, so just hold on for a little while longer," Sutra told him as she continued walking, not even looking back at him as she talked.

Thalion sighed, "Man, it's way too hot here. How do people live here?" he asked himself quietly as Aria walked by him. She looked over at him and rolled her eyes at his comment.

"I knew that you couldn't handle this trip. You may as well just stop and go home because you'll never make it to Anna with that attitude," she said as she looked at him. The look in her eyes let him know that she wasn't just joking and that she really was getting tired of him tagging along.

"I can handle the trip and I can make it to Anna," Thalion defended himself gaining more confidence in his stance as he stopped slouching while he was walking. He looked her in the eyes and she saw the fire in them. "I'm just saying that the desert is really hot and that I have no idea why people would even want to live here," he finished as he looked for an answer from her.

Aria couldn't help but want to believe that he would make the trip, but she told herself that she wouldn't be surprised if he didn't. She mentally told herself that it wouldn't bother her if anything happened to anyone she was traveling with. She wasn't close to any of them, and she wouldn't let herself get close to any of them. "If you say so," she told him curtly as she continued walking past him, not waiting for another statement from him.

Before long the group saw the city of Triet appear on the horizon as they made their way towards the city. Before they actually got too close to the city though, Kratos stopped the entire group. There was something that he had thought of that apparently everyone had forgotten about.

"Sutra and I cannot go inside the city. Thalion, you and Aria must go inside on your own and collect what we need. We will have to stay outside and wait since everyone will realize who we are," Kratos told the them all.

"Sure, that sounds fine to me," Aria said as she shrugged her shoulders, not really caring who came along with her. She patted Noishe on the head next to her to let him know that she was leaving.

Aria turned towards the city as she began to walk there, knowing that Thalion would follow her eventually. Thalion watched her starting to walk away as he looked back at Sutra and Kratos. "We'll be back before long," he assured them as he turned towards the city.

"Thalion," Kratos said before he left. Thalion turned around to look back at him curiously. "Be careful this time, okay?" he told him.

Thalion simply nodded his head as he went to catch up with Aria. Once he caught up with her she rolled her eyes at him once again and smiled a little at him.

"What's that supposed to mean?" he asked her as he saw her expression.

"Even your grandfather doesn't believe that you can make this simple little trip," Aria told him. She didn't really know why she always had to be like this to him, but there was a part of her that knew it was to get him to leave. She really just wanted to be on her own, but for the moment she needed all of them since they had the same goals. There was another part of her that kind of wanted to stay, a part that liked having all of the company, people who understood her pain of losing people that they loved. Thalion kind of understood this, but she knew that he didn't really know what it was like to lose people you cared about, not like she knew it.

"Just because no one believes in me doesn't mean that I can't help, it doesn't mean that I'm no good. It just means that I'm going to be more determined to prove that I can do the things the rest of you do," Thalion told her, looking down at the ground as he was saying, but when he finished he looked up at her confidently with a smile on his face.

She couldn't believe how positive he was all the time. It didn't matter how horrible things seemed, or how often people tried to make him feel weak, he just kept trying and kept smiling. A small part of her wanted to see him prove her and everyone else wrong.

Once the two finally reached Triet they went inside and saw the busy village as people hustled through the marketplace. It was definitely busy, and that might work to their advantage. They would be able to move through unnoticed through the large crowd of people.

The first thing they did was refill their water supply at the spring in the middle of the town. They were both excited to finally refresh themselves with cool water. After that they went and restocked on their food as well as some first aid supplies. They were looking around at some of the weapons that were for sale when they heard some commotion at the front of the city. Thalion and Aria looked at each other curiously before they slowly made their way to the front of the city.

Thalion was walking in front of Aria as they moved closer to the front. As he was walking he suddenly felt himself being pulled backwards and into a small alley. He looked behind him and saw that Aria had pulled him in there. He looked at her strangely and waited for an explanation.

Aria was looking not at Thalion, but at something outside of the alley. She did shoot a glance at Thalion and noticed he was staring intently at her. She sighed and moved his face towards what she was looking at to explain her actions.

Thalion looked to where she was showing him. There was a very large cart being drawn by two large draft horses. The cart was empty and Thalion wondered why such large horses were needed to draw the cart at all. He was also curious as to why someone had driven such a large cart into town and why Aria was so worried about it all of a sudden. Soon, he noticed what was making her so nervous. Four half-elf soldiers wandered through the streets and were drawing the attention of the villagers. Not only that, but the villagers seemed a but distressed by their appearance as well. Thalion and Aria looked on curiously.

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"Attention all villagers!" one of the soldiers announced loudly, gaining the attention of everyone who was not already listening. "We are here today to collect your monthly taxes. You all know the drill. Line up and we will collect everyone's payments to her Majesty Anna. As you know, these collections can either be monetary or in the form of supplies. And be sure not to be stingy or try to get away with giving nothing, we have ways of dealing with those who do not cooperate. So, hurry up and line up!" he screamed at the them.

The villagers hopped to it after the announcement as they scrambled to get their things together as they lined up in front of the four soldiers. Two of them announced names as people went up to give their payments. Some gave bags of money, some food, and others gave their other types of wares. The other two soldiers began to load these items on the wagons as the piles got larger and larger. It all seemed to be going smoothly until one man came into the line empty handed. He seemed very nervous and he didn't seem like he was very well off.

"And why don't you have the payment that we need?" the soldier asked him as he stared him in the face threateningly, awaiting a good answer.

The man trembled a bit as he thought over what to say. "I...I needed the food to feed my family. There was not good business...I had to...to provide for them. Just give me a bit more time," he pleaded.

"A family you say?" the soldier asked. He looked out into the crowd. "And where is the family of this man?" he asked as he kept scanning the crowd. An older woman and her daughter stepped forward, their heads bowed at the soldiers. The daughter looked to be about fourteen or fifteen, a human with long blonde hair and blue eyes.

"Well, that shouldn't be a problem. We can solve this debt easily," the soldier said as he smirked a little. The other soldiers eyed the family and chuckled a little. "Take the girl," the soldier said as the other two soldiers went out and grabbed the young girl roughly by the arm as they dragged her away from her family and towards the cart. The young girl cried and screamed as her mother tried to grab for her and bring her back. The man pleaded and cried to the soldier to give him more time and not to take his daughter, tears brimming his eyes.

"I am giving you more time, the other option would be death to the entire lot of you, but this seems to work out better. We can use her as a servant for her Majesty. That is the final call here. Get out of my sight," the soldier said as he pushed the man out of his view so he could get on to the next villager.

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"That's horrible," Thalion whispered as he watched the girl being carried away from her family. He looked over to Aria. "We have to do something for these people," he told her insistently.

Aria looked out at what was going on, and she seemed to agree with what Thalion was saying. She simply nodded her head as she continued to look out and scan the situation. Thalion jumped at her approval and was about to rush out and attack, but Aria pulled him back.

"What are you doing?" Thalion asked her as he attempted to pull away again.

"I should be asking you that!" she hissed at him. "We can't just jump in there, we need some sort of plan. She looked things over silently when finally she seemed like she had something. "Okay, once they're done with everything and the cart is full you run out and take the cart and drive it away from town and I'll take care of those goofs," she said as she looked at him.

"Wait, why am I taking the cart away from town? That stuff belongs to them," Thalion asked her.

"Well, you're taking it away and then bringing it back once I'm sure that every one of those soldiers is taken care of. That way one of them can't get away with it while we're fighting," she told him.

"Okay, that makes sense, but why are you fighting and I'm taking the cart? I can fight too you know," he asked her, a little upset with her decisions.

"Yeah, I saw that back at the last village. You take the cart and I fight because I've fought more and I'm in charge," she told him.

He sighed before giving into her as they both looked out at the situation, waiting for them to finish so they could unleash the plan.

* * *

On the other side of the town there were two more people with the same ideas in mind.

"Okay, run through the plan again," a woman said as she looked over at a man. The woman appeared to be in her mid twenties. She had long black hair that was tied in a bun, a few strands dangling in her face. She had beautiful reddish brown eyes that seemed to radiate her face. She was wearing a purple cloak over her clothes as she pulled a hood over her head and wrapped a piece of the cloak over her face, almost covering it.

"Okay, when they're done you run out and take the wagon out of town. I will stay and take care of the Desians. Then, I'll come out to bring you back so we can get these villagers belongings back to them safely. Got it?" he asked her.

The man was in his late twenties. He had brown, messy hair and brown eyes like the woman's. He looked strong and confident and carried two swords at his side. He was also wearing a cloak over his clothes, but his was a maroon color. He grabbed his sword at his side, getting ready to put it to use.

"Yeah," the woman said as she looked over at him. They both looked back at the scene running in front of them. The soldiers were on their last group of people as the man and woman stood up and hugged each other.

"Good luck," the woman said to the man as she hugged him tightly.

The man looked down at her, his rough looking appearance melting away from a moment as he stared at her. "I'll be fine, but you be careful," he told her as they pulled away.

"Well, you've all been very cooperative today. We'll be leaving now, but we'll be back in a month," the Desian said as him and his men headed towards their cart. Suddenly, two groups of people rushed out on either side of them all.

The woman ran on one side of the cart as she hopped on as Thalion hopped in on the other. Neither saw one another until they got to the top where the woman started the wagon and began to move it out of town. That's when she saw Thalion.

"Who are you?" she asked him nervously over the thunder of the horses hooves.

"I should be asking you that," he told her as he attempted to take the reins from her.

"You thief!" she screamed at him as he batted and kicked him away from her.

"Look who's calling who a thief," Thalion said as he tried to take the reins without getting knocked off by her.

The Desians all stared in horror as the saw their cart being stolen in front of them. They were about to go after it when two people jumped out from either side of them.

"Just where do you think you're going?" the man asked as he pulled out his swords and smirked at them. That's when he noticed the young girl standing next to him with an arrow pointed at the Desians. "Who are you?" he asked her, not pointing his swords away from the men.

"Less explaining, more fighting," Aria said as she launched an arrow at the Desians, beginning the fight.

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Well, I hope you liked it. The next chapter will have the fighting and you'll find out who the other people are and what they're up to. Anyway, let me know what you think and please review!! Thanks!! Hope I'm doing well with this story. 


	9. Chapter 9: New Members

Hi...I know that I'm being horrible about updating, but I really am trying and I am completely swamped with everything that I'm doing. If I continue to be slow with the whole updating thing, I am really sorry. Please don't stop reading because of my tardiness...I'm truly trying. Anyway, enough groveling and apologizing, on with the story. Hope you're all liking this. I also know that I get a lot of concerns when I leave on a cliffie of sorts so hopefully things will be cleared up, believe me I have things planned out way ahead of time. It's down in note form waiting to be written by this super busy authoress. Haha! Anyway, hope you enjoy!!

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Chapter 9: New Members

Aria's arrow flew right past one of the soldiers as all of the fighters from both sides stared at her curiously. There was a long and awkward silence before the man next to Aria decided to finally speak up.

"Who are you?" the man in the cloak asked as he threw the hood off his head so he could get a better look at the girl in front of him.

Aria just stared at him with the same surprised and confused look on her face before returning to her cocky attitude. "I think that you should be explaining that to me, don't you think?" she asked him.

Finally, their conversation was interrupted by one of the soldiers as he chuckled a bit at the situation. He looked directly at Aria, giving her a smirk that she really just wanted to knock off his face, and she was planning on it. "He doesn't need to introduce himself, this is Kagerou, I would have figured that you'd heard about him and his sister already. We have that's for sure," the guard said, the last sentence causing himself and the other soldiers to chuckle a bit.

"Well, I'm not exactly from around here so how am I expected to know about him?" she asked them as she spun her arrow around to try and get across the point that she wasn't just joking around with them. She was beginning to get a little upset with their attitude and just wanted to show them who she was and what she could do.

"Well, we're glad to see you here Kagerou. Don't think that we would let you get away with our cart so easily. You and your sister may have fooled us in the past, but the same trick can't always work," the soldier said as he looked at Kagerou who was beginning to show a hint of concern across his face.

"What are you babbling on about?" Aria asked impatiently, breaking the mood completely.

The soldier glanced at her for a moment before returning his attention back to Kagerou, having no interest with the girl at all. "That cart that your sister just rode off on is being watched by someone outside. I don't quite think she can handle our backup waiting outside this city," the soldier laughed at him. With this Kagerou's eyes grew wide, fear gripping at him at the thought of his sister being torn apart by some Desian soldier.

"Well, too bad that's she's not alone," Aria said smugly to the soldier, finally giving him a smirk of her own. Kagerou shot his glance to Aria before grabbing her arm and pulling on her to get her to come closer.

"There's someone else on there with her? Who?" he asked her desperately, threatening to shake the life from her.

"She's with my friend Thalion, he can find and he went to steal the cart before your sister decided to jump on," Aria told him. Thalion finally stopped shaking her at that. He wanted to get to Martel, but he knew that these soldiers wouldn't let him get past until he had defeated every last one of them. He really hoped that this Thalion character could actually fight decently, someone had to protect Martel until he got there. He wouldn't be able to forgive himself if she was injured.

"Well...I've had enough of all this conversation...I say that we fight already," Aria said as she pulled an arrow back into her bow and aimed it at one of the soldiers.

* * *

Th cart came to a stop not too far away from the village, just enough to get away from the soldiers that the others were fighting off. The woman dressed in her cloak ripped her hood off as she glared at Thalion.

"Who do you think you are? I truly hope that you're not from the village," she said, enraged that someone had intruded on her theft of the cart.

"I'm not even from around here, I was just trying to help these people as I was passing by," Thalion yelled back at her, hoping that she would stop acting so angry.

She looked at him a little, sighing a bit at his answer. "Well, at least you weren't dumb enough to steal this if you were from the village. That would practical kill off all the villagers on its own. Since you're not from here she can't really blame these people, they won't be punished. You better hope that she doesn't find out where you're from or who you are though," Martel warned him. "If she finds out about your village, she'll punish you by killing everyone there," she added at the end as an added warning.

"Who is she?" Thalion asked, trying to comprehend exactly who this woman was talking about. He was pretty sure he knew, but he wanted to be sure he was on the same page as her.

"Anna of course, who did you think I was talking about?" she asked him wide-eyed.

"Well, I was just checking, besides, it doesn't matter because I don't live in a town at all," he said confidently.

"Well, that's somewhat of a relief. I guess now we wait until my brother gets done with the soldiers so we can take this back and give it to the villagers," Martel said as she leaned back on the seat in the cart to get comfortable.

"So, you steal the cart and relax while he's fighting the soldiers. That's kind of lazy isn't it?" he asked her smirking a little. "I thought that there would be more to this job, but I guess I was wrong about that," he said, truly trying to get some sort of reaction from the girl.

She had heard enough and wanted to let him know more about what they were doing, he thought she was weak and she wanted to let him know that she wasn't. "My brother and I have been doing this sort of thing for a long time. My mother and father were excellent fighters and they passed on a lot of their secrets to us. If you think I'm weak then you're sorely mistaken," she let him know as she placed her hands on her hips in frustration.

"Uh huh...so, how long does this generally take?" Thalion asked her, changing the subject after a long sigh.

"How long does what take?" she asked him relaxing her posture a bit.

"Waiting for them to come back from the fight," he asked her.

"Oh, usually not too long, but there were a few more soldiers than ususal so it may take a little while. I'd get comfortable if I was you," she advised him as she leaned back into the cart once more.

There was a long silence as they both tried their best to relax on the cart in the desert. Suddenly, the silence was broken as a ear piercing screech ripped through the air, causing the both of them to cover their ears from the pain of the noise. Martel looked up as she saw what had made the terrible noise.

"I think we have some company," she told Thalion as he looked in the direction she was facing as he saw their new enemy staring at them like it had found its prey.

There, in front of them, was a large lizard like creature that stood somewhere between seven and eight feet high. It stood on two strong looking legs with two small arms out in front of its body. Both its feet and its arms had long claws that looked like they were ready to be put to use. The creature had a long tail and a strong looking back. On its back was a saddle, perching on it rode a Desian soldier armed with a sword as he stared at the two in the distance. On the lizard's head was a small armored plate to protect it from any oncoming attacks. The creature lifted its head once more and unleashed the shrill noise Martel and Thalion had just managed to quit ringing in their ears.

"Maybe this will be a little harder than I thought," Thalion said as he pulled out his sword, not really sure what to expect in this battle.

* * *

Aria dodged an attack from one of the Desian soldiers as he swung his sword at her, almost slicing her arm off in the process. She jumped back and pulled an arrow in her bow once again before she launched it at him, hitting him in the soldier while he was still trying to reposition himself to attack her again.

The soldier looked down at the arrow lodged in his shoulder as he ferociously yelled out as he came at her again, much more violently. She was barely able to dodge this time, falling to the ground as she lost her footing. He was about ready to swing at her again as she picked up a handful of sand and threw it in his face, blinding him long enough for her to get out of the way.

Kagerou wasn't fairing much better as he ended up taking on the other three soldiers. They all weren't too concerned with Aria so they focused their strength more on Kagerou who proved that he could be hard to handle. Kagerou slashed his sword at the men as they attempted to come closer to him. The soldiers created a semi-circle around Kagerou as they moved in on him. Finally, one of the men jumped for him, swinging his sword down at him as he came down. Kagerou was able to bring his sword in front of him just in time as their swords met in front of his chest. This gave the other Desians a chance to come closer since he was being distracted.

Kagerou knew that he had to get some space between him and the soldier so he worked up all of his strength into pushing the man backwards, which he successfully succeeded in. He then slashed his sword as a warning towards the rest of the soldiers, trying to back them away from him. It worked temporarily, but the soldiers began to slowly move in on him once again.

"Hurricane Thrust," Kagerou yelled out as he brought his sword back to charge up energy before swinging his sword in front of himself and past the soldiers. This rush of energy from his sword pushed the air away from his and past the soldiers and knocking all the soldiers to the ground.

"Rising Falcon!" he yelled as he jumped back a bit before jumping into the air and slamming down on one of his fallen enemies, bringing their fight to an end.

Aria, seeing that Kagerou had gotten his enemies on the ground temporarily ran away from her pursuer who was trying to get the sand out of his eyes. She came up from Kagerou's front as she quickly placed an arrow in her bow and released it into the chest of one of the soldier's as he stiffened his body on impact. He didn't attempt to get back up once his body relaxed, signaling his end in the battle.

"Not too bad," Kagerou commented from the side as he smirked at her. "But don't think I trust you just yet," he said as he locked blades with the soldier that had been after Aria.

"Don't think I want you to trust me," she said as she pulled out an arrow and got ready for the last soldier getting off the ground. She let go of another arrow as he swung his sword at it, knocking it to the side. She panicked a little as he moved faster towards her as she scrambled to get another arrow in her bow.

"I've got you now pretty," he growled as he swung at her, knocking her off balance. She stared up at him as she watched his sword lift over her.

"Sonic Thrust," a familiar voice called out from the side as Kagerou's sword and attack slammed into the soldier, knocking him away from Aria. He looked down at her and offered her his hand after he was sure the soldier wasn't going anywhere. She grabbed his hand as he lifted her off the ground.

"You should really have another weapon, a sword maybe, for close attacks, at least to defend yourself with," he said as she got up.

"I had it completely under control," she said as she dusted some sand off of herself. She glanced over Kagerou's shoulder, seeing that he had killed off the soldier he had been fighting with.

"Yeah, it sure looked that way," he said as he smirked at her. "Now, if you don't mind, I really need to make sure that my sister is okay. She might really need help," he said as he turned around, ready to run off.

"Hey, I'm coming with you," she said as she ran up alongside him. He looked at her strangely for a moment. "My friend is with her," she reminded him as he nodded his head before the two ran out of the town to catch up with Martel and Thalion.

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Well, that's it from me. I am so excited! The only reason I was able to finish this was because all of my classes were cancelled today. We have over a foot of snow and growing. I was out playing tackle football in the snow with some friends and it was fun. Our college hasn't had a snow day since 1979 and today we got one and we have one tomorrow cause it's still snowing. Anyway, enough rambling. Next week is my first stream of finals so be prepared for a wait for the next update. I am sorry for the last wait for an update so please forgive the slowness. Please review and I hope you all enjoyed this. Thanks! 


	10. Chapter 10: Close Call

Wow, sorry it has taken me so long to get this chapter up, once again. I know I'm slow and apparently a bunch of people have decided that they don't want to wait as long as I make them for these chapters, but I honestly have no time to just sit and type up chapters. I'm really excited because I got all of my work done for the weekend on Saturday, which means that today is free! Yay! Anyway, sorry about that, I really hope you all like this next chapter and don't completely hate me for my slowness. Enjoy!

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Chapter 10: Close Calls

The large lizard-like creature screeched once more before it, with its rider on it back, charged at Thalion and Martel. Thalion had grabbed his sword as he jumped off the cart to avoid the monster. Martel jumped out of her side and began to run as the soldier saw her, wanting to catch her first. Thalion watched as the monster made its way towards the woman.

Martel finally spun around and stood her ground. Thalion was almost afraid to watch as she pulled out a card and faced the monster, no fear showing on her face. As the monster finally came within a few feet of her it leapt at her. Martel spun around and whipped the card out in front of her towards the monster.

"Pyre Seal," she yelled as she threw the cards at the monster creating a small explosion, enough though to knock the monster back. Once it was on the ground it slowly got up and shook its head to regain its composure. It looked around and realized that Martel was running away, trying her hardest to find some place she could hide until she figured out what to do about the situation.

Thalion saw the trouble that she was in and tried to figure out what to do himself, he was a lot farther away from her than the soldier and monster were. He started running towards her, hoping he wouldn't be too late, and that he would think of something to do when he got there.

The lizard walked slowly towards Martel, the soldier on its back chuckling a bit, knowing he had an advantage over the woman without her brother there to aid her. What he didn't realize was that Thalion was still around and was coming towards them as fast as he could.

"Power seal!" she yelled again as she threw out another card at the monster, jumping out of the way as it was hit, but tried to pounce on her as she threw the card. She began running once again and the animal looked in the direction she was running once again as it let out an intimidating, deep growl. It turned to where she had taken off to and was about to run when something distracted it from behind.

"Hey, are you too chicken to try and take on a guy, or are you afraid that I'll kick your butt?" Thalion taunted the soldier as he brought his sword out in full view, trying to give Martel a chance to run for some sort of cover.

The soldier didn't exactly enjoy being laughed at as he whipped the reins on the lizard sharply as it spun around to swing its tail at Thalion. Thalion saw what was happening and hoped that the same attack he had used once before would work again.

"Demon Fang," he cried as he brought his sword down to the ground hoping for some sort of effect. Unfortunately, he didn't feel the same power surge through him or his sword, and no energy escaped from his sword either. He realized this, but didn't have any time to react as the large, powerful tail of the lizard crashed into him, sending him flying several feet, rolling on the ground as he landed.

Martel was still trying to gain some distance between herself and the lizard, seeing how her attacks weren't doing anything.

_'I wish that Kagerou was here,'_ she thought as she ran, her lungs screaming in pain. She ran as fast as she possibly could, but she could hear the sound of the monster catching up to her. Soon, the thunder from the monster was so loud that she knew it had to be right behind her. She heard it screech before she was knocked to the ground forcefully by what she thought was the side of a sword. She wasn't cut but she was knocked out enough that she felt like she couldn't get back up.

She looked up and saw that the lizard was trying to slow down, apparently it had a hard time stopping and turning. She thought she could get up and try to run again, but when she tried to move nothing moved. She was stunned and couldn't get her body to cooperate. She knew that this was the end for her, she only hoped that by some miracle Kagerou would show up to save her like he always had in the past.

As the monster drew closer she felt less and less hopeful about her rescue. Once the monster was within about ten feet from her closed her eyes and braced for the impact. What happened next shocked and confused her. She didn't feel the expected impact from the front, but rather she felt herself move to the side, something was pushing her to the side. She opened her eyes to meet the determined, hazel eyes staring ahead as Thalion stopped and placed her back on the ground and stood up.

She watched as he walked towards where the monster was trying to stop and turn around once again. She couldn't believe that he had actually risked his own life to save her. She watched him, wondering what he was planning on doing.

"Come on kid, we both know that you don't have it in you to fight me," the soldier yelled from on top the lizard. "Last time I went easy on you, but don't think you'll get off so lucky this time," he said as he snapped the reins on the lizard to get it moving once again.

"Ok..." Thalion said to himself under his breath as he held his sword, trying to get that energy back he had once felt in himself before. There was nothing, he couldn't feel anything as he waited for something to happen. He saw the monster finally turn around as it charged towards him, but he still had nothing. "No..." he said hopelessly, realizing that he hadn't figured out how to use the power he had used only once before.

"I've got you now," the soldier said under his breath as he and his monster charged towards the boy.

"No!" Thalion yelled as he felt a wave of energy spread through his body, but this was different, it felt different.

_"Thalion, use this power wisely, the power of your elven ancestors...take it...my son..."_

The soldier noticed that something was going on with the boy, but he knew that he wasn't all that strong so he decided to ignore it, he would just plow through him anyway.

"Grave!" Thalion yelled out as the energy rushed out of him, flowing out of his feet and into the earth below. The ground around him began to shake ever so slightly at first, but built to intensity as spikes shot through the ground the first one out stopping the lizard as it ran into it, the rest piercing through its body.

Thalion and Martel watched as the spikes descended back into the ground leaving the motionless on the ground, blood seeping out of its wounds. The soldier, on the other hand, managed to miss the spikes barely as they pierced his animal.

"Why you little," he spat angrily as he jumped off his animal and came at Thalion with his sword.

This is when another flood of energy pulsated through Thalion as he gripped his sword tightly, automatically recognizing what the energy actually was this time. He raised the sword above his head and brought it down swiftly and quickly.

"Demon Fang!" he screamed as the energy flowed powerfully out of his sword and into the soldier, knocking him backwards to the point where he wasn't going to be getting up anytime soon.

Thalion stared at what he'd just accomplished as he collapsed to his knees, panting to catch his breath. He couldn't believe the power he had felt, but what was the most baffling to him was the voice that had spoken before his attack. It had called him his son. Thalion reached behind him and grabbed the cape on his back, looking at it carefully.

"Thank you...Dad..." he said softly and smiled.

"I can't believe you, you're amazing," Martel said as she limped over to where Thalion was kneeling. She hugged him tightly as he grabbed her arms from the shock of her sudden embrace.

"Thanks. Are you okay?" he asked her as he pulled her away from him.

"I think so, I may have just hurt my ankle a little, but I'll be fine," she assured him as he got off the ground.

"What's going on here?" a voice called from behind them. Thalion spun around to face the mysterious person. When he did, not only did he see a man who looked rather upset from their recent embrace, but also, surprisingly enough, Aria as well.

"Is that your boyfriend?" Thalion asked Martel nervously, not really wanting the man to confuse the fact that she was hugging him as a thank you, not because they had any feelings like that towards one another.

"No, that's my brother," she stated simply.

"Your brother?" Thalion asked her, the nervousness in his voice not leaving as he stared at the man who was still glaring at him from a couple yards away. For some reason the fact that he was not her boyfriend did not comfort him at all.

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Well, that's it for this chapter. I hope you liked it and that it met expectations. If it didn't, I'm sorry. Plus, once again, I'm sorry for being a slow updater. Anyway, forgive me, leave a review, and I'll be back again. When I'll be back, I can't quite guarantee. Thanks for the reviews for the last chapter, don't forget to review for this one either. Thanks! 


	11. Chapter 11: Plans

**Note from kratoslover1**: Hey everyone, due to my enormous pile of studying and homework with a job and duties to fulfill in my clubs at college, I am unable to remain on top of updating. I am working with Kararu Rinamino, but she is doing the actual writing process so big props to her. This chapter is right how I thought it should be, and she's got everything perfectly. We are not planning on moving the location of the story so you can still find updates under my name. So, be nice and show your support for the new authoress. She is great! And as always leave reviews, we both appreciate reading them.

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Hey, guys! This is my first shot writing for another author, but here we go!

**In the Eye of the Storm**

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Chapter 11: Plans**

"M'lady?"

"Come inside."

The soldier swallowed, slowly taking steps inside the large throne room.

"What is it?" the woman spat, annoyed that he had intruded on her peace.

"Uhm…uh…m'lady…I, uh…," he started, swallowing, shaking with fear of just being in her presence.

"Spit it out, or I'll kill you right here," the woman snarled.

"Th-the two kids that I told you about earlier, Lady Anna, they…they helped Martel and Kagerou escape…"

"What?!" she yelled, standing up, absolutely seething in anger.

"Uhm…"

"I thought you told me that the half elf had been killed, and the human ran off! What in the hell are you thinking, coming to me about this?"

"You…uhm…you told me that, uh…that the…uh…the two younger ones weren't…uhm…weren't important…"

"I did not," Anna snarled, glaring at him.

"You did, m'lady…," the poor, scared soldier murmured, but it would prove to be a fatal mistake on his part.

"I did not tell you that they weren't important, you insolent little brat," Anna yelled, gripping the man by his throat. "I don't like being accused of being wrong, scum!"

"Y…yes, m'lady…," the poor man gasped out, hands going up to try and get her to relinquish her hold on his neck so he could breathe.

"But you knew this already, didn't you, scum," she asked, raising a brow at him, her gaze turning sinister.

"Pl…please, m'lady! I have a wife…and two children…! Please…! I apologize, m'lady…," he gasped out, fear filling his eyes.

"It's too late for that," Anna scowled out, releasing him, dropping him down to the ground, watching as he stood.

"Thank you…m'lady," he said between coughs and wheezes for air.

"For what? Killing you," Anna asked, her voice a sickly sweet tone.

Looking down, the man saw a sword in his gut, blood seeping out of the wound to stain his tunic and vest leathers.

Suddenly feeling the pain, he gasped as he fell back, the light leaving his eyes before he landed.

After watching the blood pooling around his pale, cold body, Anna looked up.

"Gabriella! Kriss! Adam! Get in here," Anna yelled. The door opened and three people filed in.

"Yes, m'lady," all three said as they kneeled before her, bowing their head in respect, none making any notice of the dead body on the floor before them.

"I'm going to the Tree of Mana," Anna said as she stood.

The three didn't move, heads still bowed.

"Kriss, Adam, I want you two to accompany me."

"Of course, m'lady."

"Gabriella, I want you to go find out what's going on with those two brats that are with Martel and Kagerou, and find out who they are."

"On your command, m'lady."

Gabriella sat immobile, years of training drilled into her mind. Her short hair was a blazing crimson, her golden amber eyes downcast to the floor. The half elf's ears were protruding out through her hair, but Anna didn't seem to mind. She was actually pleased with her creations, this time.

A tight crimson leather halter was over her chest, a pair of loose black pants on her legs. A silver snake-like bracelet was up on her upper arm, tight around the skin there. Black slipper-like shoes covered her feet, a small, silver anklet hidden by the pants. A beautiful black and silver cloak, all fixed and closed with silver lining and a black metal clasp, covered all the clothing, hiding it from preying eyes

Adam was just the same as Gabriella, sitting still. It was clear that he was older than the other two with him. His vibrant, shockingly blue eyes were downcast to the floor as well, peering out past his shoulder length brown locks. His pointed ears protruded out from beneath his hair, but that didn't stop him from following his queen.

He wore a pair of long, black pants, barefoot, a long sleeved green shirt over him, a white vest and gloves, both adorned with emerald gems and jewels, covered him. A cloak, similar to Gabriella's, around his shoulders as well.

Kriss sat between the two, her long, black and silver streaked hair hiding her pointed ears. Two toned eyes, one silver, one charcoal black, stared out from beneath her black hood, a black and silver cloak covering her whole being, hood up and over her head.

Beneath the cloak, she wore a pair of long, baggy black pants like her companions, barefoot. A black sleeveless shirt covered her upper body, a silver long sleeved shirt beneath it, both low cut and fitting her frame well.

Each of the trio wore a necklace, black chained, a silver talisman on the end, all identical to each other, except one was red, one green, the last silver.

Anna nodded, staring at them, slight pride in her eyes. It seemed that she didn't seem to care, or even notice the dead man laying bloody on the floor before her.

"All right; let's go," Anna said, walking over the man as though he were just a muddy puddle that should be ignored. She pulled out her wings, watching as the three stood.

They each pulled out their own pair of wings, Kriss' silver and black, Adam's emerald and gold, Gabriella's crimson and black.

"Let's go," Anna said, and with that, she, Kriss and Adam disappeared, going one way towards a transport ring, Gabriella going the opposite way, towards another transport.

This was going to be interesting…

* * *

Upon reaching the Great Mana Tree, the three angels landed, Anna immediately going forward.

A glowing figure appeared, long green hair flowing behind her as she walked. She looked up as she saw the three walking towards her.

"What business do you have here at the Great Mana Tree?" the woman asked, slowing to a stop, folding her hands delicately in front of her.

"To kill you," Anna snarled, going right up to her, stopping just before she ran into her. Kriss and Adam held back, letting their mistress do the talking.

"Really," she asked, looking right into Anna's eyes. "You are not ready for this. You aren't even capable of such things yourself. You aren't in control; you must fight this, what has taken over your soul, or you shall fall into darkness."

"I don't know what you're talking about," Anna snarled.

"Oh, I think that somewhere in there, you really do know what's going on," the woman said, head tilted to the side. "You know exactly what you're doing, but you're powerless to stop it. You must fight it, fight to gain back control, or you will loose all that you are."

"This is all that I am."

"No, it is not, Miss Anna. You killed your mother, father, and your step father."

"Storm was NOT my mother, nor was Zelos my father, you damned idiot."

"That is what you take them to be, but is it true?"

"I've had enough of this!"

Anna outstretched her arms in front of her and pointed them towards the woman.

"You're really going to kill me. It's a shame, really. You really, honestly think that once I'm gone that you will be in control of the tree? No. With me dead, it will just go out of control."

Anna didn't hear this, only glared at the woman, her hands beginning to glow a sickly black color, her wings unfolding from her back.

"You…are not…Martel…! You never will be," Anna shouted angrily, the voice hers, but not at the same time.

"Kill me, if you believe it will help, but it will not."

"Stop it!"

"I am only speaking the truth, Anna. You do this, and you will only bring your own soul further towards it's own destruction!"

"You are not Martel! Stop acting like it!"

With that, a sword materialized in the air before her, multiples soon following, and shot at Martel.

Not even moving to defend herself, she gasped in pain and shock as the swords embedded themselves deep within her.

"You…aren't…Mithos……either…," Martel managed before she fell to the ground, the light leaving her vibrant green eyes, the crimson liquid leaking from her wounds to pool in a sickly puddle around her.

"Come on, we're leaving," Anna said to Kriss and Adam, who nodded and took out their wings, flying after Anna as she took off just as the ground started to shake with a single, horrible tremor.

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Well…that's my writing for this! I hope you all like it! I'm sorry if it's not what you were expecting, but it's the best I can do…thanks, and as kratoslover1 always says, please leave a review!

Thanks so much for reading!


	12. Chapter 12: Long Time, No See

**Okay, I hope that you all enjoyed the last chapter, because I was trying my best to make it still…uhm…in the story line, is what I'm trying to say…now, I really hope that you all enjoy this chapter!**

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In the Eye of the Storm**

**Chapter 12: Long Time, No See**

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Thalion swallowed, watching the young man glare as he came over to his sister, putting an arm around her to help give her support at seeing the slight limp as she tried to move over to him.

He let out a nervous laugh.

"So you're her brother…," Thalion muttered, voice a bit shaky.

"Yes."

The tone was cold, and Thalion shrunk back a bit, watching as Martel slapped his shoulder.

"Kagerou, stop it," Martel hissed, and Kagerou's glare disappeared, but he still shot Thalion dirty looks.

"Uhm…so," Thalion started, "Aria, you and I should uh, be getting back…"

"Yeah, we should. Let's go," Aria said, before she turned on her heel and walked off without another thought.

Martel and Kagerou blinked after her, looking to Thalion a moment later for explanation.

"She's just…really straight forward…Come with us," Thalion told the two of them, who nodded.

They both looked to each other, a bit confused, as the siblings started to follow after him.

"So, what's your name," Martel finally asked him.

"Give me your name and I'll give you mind," Thalion replied.

Martel and Kagerou looked at each other, their brows raised. That sounded just like someone they knew…

"All right…I'm Martel," the girl said, looking to her brother, rolling her eyes when he didn't look like he was going to reply, "and this is the king of stupidity."

"Hey! Martel, that's not nice…," Kagerou glared. "My name is actually Kagerou."

"Huh…interesting," Thalion said as they walked.

"Now, what's your name, smart ass?" Kagerou asked, looking as though his arms would be crossed over his chest if he wasn't helping Martel walk.

"Thalion," he said just as they caught up to Aria. "Are we there yet?"

Martel rolled her eyes. "You sound like Father."

"I do?" Thalion questioned, gazing at her over his shoulder.

Martel didn't have a chance to answer, as Aria lifted a hand to stop and silence them all.

Aria let out a soft whistle, and she and Thalion watched as the great protozoan ran from the brush and over to Aria, nuzzling against her.

"Hey, Noishe," Aria said as she pet the beast, watching as Kratos and Sutra soon followed the creature out of the brush.

"Took you long enough." Sutra huffed.

"Grandpa!"

Thalion stared in confusion as Martel and Kagerou suddenly ran to Kratos and put their arms around him, hugging him tightly.

Kratos looked confused, then after getting a good look at the two, let out a rare smile.

"It's good to see you two again."

"Wait a minute…you know these guys?" Thalion questioned, looking at his grandfather with disbelief.

Kratos nodded.

"Yes…they are your cousins, Thalion."

Thalion blinked. "What, Grandpa?"

"Your mother and their father were brother and sister, Thalion," Kratos explained to his grandson as he let them go, noticing the limp in Martel's step. "What happened?"

Martel grumbled. "We were saving a cart of people's belongings getting taken to be turned into Anna, as well as a girl being taken to be her slave…" She then winced as she moved her leg wrong. "Would you mind he-"

Kratos' eyes widened slightly and Martel stopped, seeing the very subtle shake of his head. She stopped, then looked to him. "Would you mind helping Kagerou and I back to Mizuho?"

Kratos looked over to Thalion, who was busy petting Noishe with Aria, and didn't seem to notice anything. He let out a breath of relief.

"Didn't Mizuho move? I tried going there, but it was burned down…," Sutra muttered.

"Yeah, it did move," Martel told him, nodding. "We had to move it, because Anna knew where it was, and we couldn't risk her attacking."

"How's your mother and father," Kratos questioned.

"Really good, Grandpa…Mother's the chieftess, and you know Father…he's still practicing everyday, to stay in shape, but he's lazy, as always…," Kagerou said, rolling his eyes in a show of emphasis.

"Of course, Lloyd was always like that," Kratos said, another rare smile slipping onto his face as memories came to his mind.

"So, are we just going to stand here?" Aria asked, sounding impatient. "Because if you guys aren't leaving, then I'm going."

"And I'm going with her," Thalion added.

"No, we're going…," Kratos said with a heavy sigh, then turned to Martel, looking down at her leg, then up at her. "Can you walk, or do you want to ride on Noishe?"

"As long as Kagerou helps me, I'm good…," Martel told him.

"Ride on Noishe," Kratos said, and Martel nodded with a small sigh.

"Yes, Grandpa," Martel said, Kagerou helping her over to the protozoan. A few moments later she was ready to go.

"All right, let's go already…," Aria grumbled.

"Okay, okay, we're coming," Sutra said.

They started heading after Kagerou, having just stepped onto a slope, but all stopped and tried to find support as a sudden, violent tremor shot through the ground.

"What the hell…! What is this," Thalion cried, gripping onto a tree, holding onto it to stay steady.

"I don't know," Kratos yelled back, crouching, as he was nowhere near a tree. "Stay as steady as you can!"

Even though he was yelling as loud as he could, his voice could barely be heard over the painfully loud rumble of the earthquake.

"Why is there an earthquake," Sutra cried, watching as Aria started to fall to the ground, having lost her footing over a rock.

"Aria," Sutra cried, reaching over to grab the girl by the arm and hold her against her while holding onto a tree to hold both of them still. Aria clung to her, not wanting to fall and hurt herself on the slope, slight fear filling her as adrenaline rushed through her system.

Martel was holding onto Noishe, who was leaning against a tree himself to stay upright, Thalion and Kagerou each using the same tree, but neither seemed to notice.

A few minutes later, the tremor stopped, but they all stayed where they were.

"What the hell was that?" Thalion inquired as he moved away from the tree he was using, Kagerou doing the same.

"I don't know…," Kratos muttered, standing up straight again.

"Are you all right?" Sutra asked, looking down at Aria, who was still clutching onto her.

"Yeah…," Aria said, moving away, looking embarrassed that she had actually done that, flustered at the fact that she had been saved by someone else.

"There's nothing wrong with it, it was so sudden," Sutra told Aria. "It's all right…"

Aria just huffed. "Are we going yet?"

Kagerou was about to nod and start leading the way again when he stopped.

"What is it, Kagerou?" Kratos asked his grandson, blinking as he watched the young man look around, his hands inching towards his swords.

"We're being watched…"

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Well, that's it for now. I hope that you all liked this, and will continue to read! Thanks for all the reviews last chapter, and please do so this one as well!

Thanks for reading!


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